Celebrating Youth Entrepreneurship in Colorado

DENVER - July 27, 2016 - PRLog -- A recent CNBC report (http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/12/americas-top-states-for-business-2016-the-list-and-ranking.html) ranked Colorado as the third best state for business in the United States, so it's no wonder that the entrepreneur scene here is thriving.  A small, but mighty subset of this culture is the youth start-up community.  As a forerunner in providing youth entrepreneurship programming and resources, Young Americans Center for Financial Education announces its picks for the top nine youth businesses in Colorado.  The owners of each business will be honored at the 15^th annual Celebration for Young Entrepreneurs awards and gala, sponsored by CoBank, the event will be held at the Seawell Grand Ballroom on Thursday, September 22, 2016.

An independent panel of judges evaluated applications of youth, ages 6-21, before selecting this year's nine business finalists.  Of those, a winner will be selected in each of three age categories who will receive a $1,000 cash award and a mentorship pairing with a local business leader.  This year's finalists include:

6-11 years old:  Jack Bonneau (9) - Jack's Stands, Ruby Lucken (8) – Food Cubby, Acacia Sack (11) – Reading Goal Bookmarks

12-15 years old: Sam Craig (14) – Smax Sticks, Lily (15), Chloe (14), and Sophie (11) Warren – Sweet Bee Sisters, Kayla Wolins (14) – Cards for Caring

16-21 years old: Nic Ansuini (17) – Wild Wood Pens, Hannah Isenhart (16) – Hanimals, Ariane Vigil (21) – Teal Poppies

About Celebration for Young Entrepreneurs and Young Americans Center

Celebration for Young Entrepreneurs is a business competition and dinner event fundraiser that benefits the programs of Young Americans Center for Financial Education, a nonprofit charity that reaches more than 60,000 youth every year through hands-on programs and real-life experiences to develop financial literacy in youth. For tickets ($250 per person) and sponsored tables ($2,500 and up) contact Janet Redwine at 303-320-3241 or jredwine@yacenter.org.

Visit www.yacenter.org to learn more about Young Americans' resources for young business owners, as well as flagship programs Young AmeriTowne, International Towne, YouthBiz, Money Matters classes and Young Americans Bank in Denver, the only FDIC insured real bank in the world designed specifically for young people (age 21 and under).