Drew Brees Challenges Local High Schools to Trust Their Crazy Ideas
The Idea Village
Drew Brees Challenges Local High Schools to Trust Their Crazy Ideas
The Brees Dream Foundation & The Idea Village launch high school entrepreneurship program, in partnership with Google & IdeaPaint
For Immediate Release
(New Orleans) July 27, 2010 - In partnership with The Idea Village, the Brees Dream Foundation is pleased to announce the official launch of the Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge, an after-school entrepreneurship program for local high schools.
Since 2000, The Idea Village has focused on creating positive change in New Orleans by indentifying, supporting and retaining entrepreneurial talent. Drew Brees embodied The Idea Village mantra, Trust Your Crazy Ideas, as he led the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl championship. In doing so, he encouraged his team – and the community – to believe in the power of turning a bold dream into a triumphant reality. Together, they will encourage the New Orleans youth to do the same through the Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge.
“Many of the attributes of football - resiliency, passion, preparation and teamwork - translate into entrepreneurship,” remarks Drew Brees quarterback of the New Orleans Saints and founder of the Brees Dream Foundation. “As an entrepreneur myself, I am delighted to partner with The Idea Village to bring this entrepreneurial spirit to New Orleans high schools.”
With support from IdeaPaint, the creator of innovative dry-erase paint products and the official paint supplier of the Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge, the Brees Dream Foundation is sponsoring IDEArooms in four New Orleans high schools. Through the installation of IdeaPaint, IDEArooms boast floor-to-ceiling dry-erase surfaces. These classrooms will become centers of innovation, creativity and collaboration, and the home base for the after-school entrepreneurship program and business contest, hosted by the Brees Dream Foundation and The Idea Village.
Drew Brees is challenging teams of nine students per school to launch a for-profit business in which proceeds support a school project. The Brees Dream Foundation will match up to $10,000 in revenue generated by the winning team who will be invited to pitch alongside MBA and corporate teams during The Idea Village’s New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (March 18 – 25, 2011).
Google is also a partner in this exciting initiative. Google’s K-12 Talent and Outreach Team is sponsoring technology centers in each of the participating high schools and will provide curriculum support to the students, demonstrating how to use technology to grow their businesses in the new global marketplace.
The four pilot schools include Edna Karr Secondary School, Lusher Charter School, Walter L. Cohen High Schools and Warren Easton Senior High School.
Entrepreneurs in The Idea Village portfolio will partner with each student team, serving as a product supplier and mentor for their budding ventures. Partner entrepreneurs include Bayou Brew, Feelgoodz, NOLA Couture and REpurposingNOLA Piece by Peace™.
Tim Williamson, co-founder and CEO of The Idea Village remarks, “Drew Brees has inspired an entire community to believe in the sense of possibility. We hope that the Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge stimulates this belief and entrepreneurial fervor for participating students and their future career paths.”
Alex Hochron, Health Sciences Academy Principal of Cohen High School adds, “Drew Brees is the perfect role model, both on and off the football field. By teaching high school students about entrepreneurship, and inspiring them to think beyond their textbooks, we are developing our next generation of business leaders.”
The Brees Dream Foundation and The Idea Village share a belief in the possibility – and the promise – of turning a crazy idea into a legendary success. In leveraging their respective organizations to support entrepreneurship among our city’s youth, New Orleans is being positioned as a world-class model for driving economic and social change.
To learn more about the Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge, please visit www.ideavillage.org.
ABOUT THE BREES DREAM FOUNDATION
The Brees Dream Foundation was founded in 2003 by Drew and Brittany Brees with a mission to advance research in the fight against Cancer and provide care, education and opportunities for children in need. Since its inception, the Brees Dream Foundation has committed more than $6,000,000 to charitable causes and academic institutions in the New Orleans, San Diego and West Lafayette/Purdue communities. Proud to be a reliable and accountable charity solution, the Brees Dream Foundation will continue to challenge themselves, their teammates and their corporate partners to increase the impact the foundation has on the lives of those in need. (www.drewbrees.com)
ABOUT THE IDEA VILLAGE
In 2000, The Idea Village was formed by a group of New Orleans citizens who returned home energized by experiences in thriving communities across the United States. The founders determined that the key to creating positive economic and social change in New Orleans was to create a vibrant entrepreneurial community. The Idea Village formalized in 2002 as an independent 501(c) (3) non-profit organization with a mission to identify, support and retain entrepreneurial talent in New Orleans by providing business resources to high-impact ventures. The Idea Village team supports entrepreneurial talent by identifying growth challenges, setting goals, providing business strategy, marketing support and financial direction. To date, The Idea Village has supported over 580 local ventures. Students, professionals and collaborative partners have contributed over 56,000 hours towards business consulting and resource development and allocated over $2.5 million in grants directly to businesses. (www.ideavillage.org)
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