Newark Venture Partners Hosts 55 Newark Youth as they Begin Innovative 12-Week Leadership Program with All Stars Project of New Jersey

The All Stars Project of New Jersey (ASP of NJ) kicked off its Fall 2018 Development School for Youth (DSY) program in Newark on Tuesday, September 18 at an event hosted by Newark Venture Partners.  

Fifty-five young adults from Newark and 25 from Jersey City are enrolled in DSY – an innovative afterschool development program that includes 12-weeks of workshops run by business professionals that will use the All Stars’ unique performance-based approach to help them learn new things, build community and connect to the mainstream.  

Tuesday’s event began at the All Stars Project of New Jersey’s Scott Flamm Center for Afterschool Development in Newark’s Washington Park cultural district, and concluded one block away at Newark Venture Partners, where entrepreneurs from BoxCar, Industrial/Organic, LeadBird, MoCaFi, Modelshop, and Vydia held breakout sessions with the new DSY students.

“Since we began our efforts here in Newark in 1999, nearly 2,000 youth have graduated from DSY, where we use performance training to help them develop a wide set of skills – everything from conversation and building resumes, to job interviews, hosting events, giving presentations, and much more,” explained Shadae McDaniel, Director of Youth Programs for the All Stars Project of New Jersey.  “There was no better way to begin the fall 2018 class than with the help of Newark Venture Partners and six of their entrepreneurs.  DSY has a transformational impact for both our young students and the business leaders involved – and that was truly evident from the energy and excitement shared by all on Tuesday.”

Graduates of the program will also become part of the ASP of NJ’s successful summer internship program, where business partners provide paid internships that continue to help these young adults develop and grow. This past summer in Newark alone, 33 different companies sponsored 109 paid internships.

“The All Stars has connected Newark Venture Partners and our portfolio companies with an amazing group of interns from their program.  Part of Newark Venture Partners’ mission is to help catalyze development within Newark’s technology sector – and having the opportunity to mentor Newark’s future workforce and its aspiring entrepreneurs has been a rewarding experience for our companies and our community,” said Dan Borok, Managing Partner for Newark Venture Partners.

The All Stars Project is a 100% privately funded national nonprofit organization, and a national leader in the field of Afterschool Development, a new way of engaging poverty. The All Stars Project believes that afterschool is the best way to bring youth from poor communities into the mainstream and spark their desire to learn and grow.