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Fifteen Asbury Park sixth, seventh and eighth graders are signing on to participate in Interfaith Neighbors’ new Junior Entrepreneur Training (JET) program that will begin in February.

The 15-session course will see students collaborate as they learn business-related skills that can help them with their current studies and future plans to graduate from high school and go on to college, business and vocational careers.

The sessions will be held from February to April at Interfaith Neighbors’ not-for-profit Business Development Center at 1201 Springwood Ave. Students will develop a business plan for an enterprise, perhaps a new cookie, a sports item, or jewelry accessory and present it to a team of adult advisors from the community for approval. The team can get up to $200 in seed money for materials and will showcase its business at a vendor expo next spring.

Some of the lifelong skills the students will learn include team building, improved communication skills such as public speaking, and an understanding of business, according to Interfaith Neighbors’ JET program funding proposal.

A $30,000 award came through this fall from the state department’s Office of Faith Based Initiatives. On Saturday, students and their parents completed their application process at a luncheon provided by Kula Café in the Springwood Center.

Initial student recruits came from Asbury Park Middle School, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Sisters Academy, and the Big Brother Big Sister program, and included one student from Hope Academy Charter School.

Business Development Center Director Roger Boyce will administer the JET program. He sees it as an opportunity for students to learn skills that can help them take control of their future. Jet is based on the successful Mercer County-based Minding Our Business Inc. [MOB] program founded. That program has seen more than 2,500 Trenton middle school students participate since 1997.

Frank Syphax, president of West Side Citizens United, was instrumental in bringing the idea from the successful MOB program to Interfaith, Boyce said. His son, Tracey Syphax, is chairman of the MOB board.

Charles W. Simmons, a high-tech entrepreneur and Freehold resident, signed on to run the program as the volunteer director.

“For me, it’s important to give kids who may not otherwise have the opportunity, a chance to see what possibilities are out there for their futures, ” Simmons said

Students may have multiple product ideas but will structure one business plan, Simmons said. The business the students create will be launched at the Made in Monmouth Expo at Monmouth University in the spring.

“Combined with the high poverty rate, youth from Asbury Park and surrounding areas are faced with the difficult task of finding employment in a challenging economic climate, which is further amplified by the lack of a high school diploma and basic work skills,’’ the JET proposal states.

After-school programs have been shown to make a difference in the academic success of students and such programs are often out of reach for low-income students, the funding proposal states.

“Poverty tends to cross generations, with children all-too-frequently encountering the same hardships as their parents. The goal of the JET program is to break this cycle by encouraging youth to stay in school and focused on building their economic foundation at an early age.”

Interfaith Neighbors’ partners in the program include the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County, Community Affairs and Resource Center, West Side Citizens United and MOB organization.

Advisors include Doug Eagles, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club, Asbury resident and business mentor Robert Weiner, and Mychal Mills from FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Students will be monitored after leaving the program to see if desired outcomes are met and the program itself will be analyzed and any needed changes made.

[Photo at top provided courtesy of Interfaith Neighbors’ Nancy Shields.]

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