Teens Rewarded For Innovative Social Ventures to Help Latinos Stay in School

In response to the staggering Hispanic dropout rate, 50 teams of students across the country developed action plans for sustainable social ventures to motivate their peers to stay in school. The student teams, composed of youth ages 13-20, were recognized today by Youth Venture and MTV Tr3s for winning the “Tu Voz, My Venture” contest, an initiative to motivate young Hispanics to stay in school and prepare for college or a career.

In the United States, just over half (57.8 percent) of Latino students graduate from high school on time (1), and Latino graduates are only about half as likely as white students to leave high school adequately prepared for four-year colleges.(2)

“We are proud of these young people,” said Gretchen Zucker, executive director of Youth Venture. “Being a pioneer and launching a venture that addresses such a complex issue — the high drop-out rate of Latino students — takes courage, leadership and important life skills. These 50 teams have shown their ability to lead. We look forward to continuing to support the ‘Tu Voz’ teams as they create positive social impact today, tomorrow and throughout their lives.”

The initiative awarded each of the 50 winning teams start-up grants of up to $1,000 to launch their ventures; five of them were then selected to receive a $5,000 scholarship. The effort was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Tu Voz, My Venture” is an element of a larger effort by Youth Venture and MTV Tr3s to invite young Latinos to express themselves through video and learn more about how to overcome the education challenges they face. It is also part of MTV Tr3s’ pro-social campaign, VOCES.

Among the winning “Tu Voz, My Venture” action plans are:

– BioMotors: Veggies give you GAS, Los Angeles, CA: The team’s action plan assists Latino students with transportation to educational programs, while engaging them in a movement to expand awareness of the use of environmentally conscious fuel. The plan calls for converting an old school bus diesel engine to run on used vegetable oil collected from fast food restaurants.

– College Bound Latinos, Arlington, VA: This team plans to host trips to colleges for young Latinos to expose them to college life and reinforce the importance of a college education. The program informs students about scholarship opportunities and hopes to educate parents of students by hosting “college night sessions” in English and Spanish.

– SOUL, Gresham, OR: Concerned about high drop-out and pregnancy rates among young Latinas, the ultimate goal of this venture is to get Latina students in Gresham High School focused on school and college through mentoring, homework tutoring, and the building of self-esteem and stronger social networks.

“MTV Tr3s is committed to providing a voice to young Latinos in all areas of their lives,” said Lucia Ballas-Traynor, senior vice president and general manager of the bilingual channel. “It is impressive and moving to hear what young people have to say about the importance of education and we are honored to be able to provide a means of helping them turn their ideas into action. I highly commend these young people and thank them for participating.”

For a summary of the winning team’s venture ideas, please visit www.genv.net or www.mtv3voces.com. The 50 winning teams from across the United States are: “*

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