Market Fair to Feature Businesses Run By Trenton Youth

Minding Our Business (MOB), a community outreach program organized by Rider University’s College of Business Administration, will hold its 16th annual Market Fair Day on Saturday, March 31, at Patton J. Hill Elementary School, located at 1010 East State Street in Trenton, N.J.

The Market Fair is the culmination of a semester-long course, CBA-220: Minding Our Business, offered at Rider University. This year, 44 student mentors from Rider and 140 students from Trenton public schools are participating in the project. Students in this program participate in 14 90-minute training sessions from February to April. College student- mentors facilitate teams of public school students who develop business plans and run their businesses at the Market Fair Day.

“This is a large community event where the student teams run their businesses in a festival-like atmosphere,” said Dr. Sigfredo Hernandez, director and founder of Minding Our Business. “We will honor Walmart and its regional manager, Tom McAloon, for its steadfast commitment to advance the development of Trenton youth and its strong support of the Minding Our Business Program.”

The market will open at 9 a.m. and close at 2 p.m. Walmart and McAloon will be honored between 11:30 a.m. and noon. The event will also feature a band, DJ, drill teams and a talent show organized by students and their teachers.

The purpose of MOB, which offers spring, summer and advanced programs, is to enhance the personal and vocational development of urban youth through entrepreneurship education and mentoring. Since 1997, MOB has trained and mentored more than 2,000, 10–14 year old Trenton students into starting and running their businesses.

For more information about the Market Fair Day and the Minding Our Business Program, please contact Dr. Sigfredo Hernandez at 609-895-5509 or [email protected].