Key Points:
- Camp Destination Innovation in Wichita is accepting registrations for high school teens interested in entrepreneurship.
- This year’s theme is Socialpreneurship, a business model that supports a cause or gives back to the community.
- Education comes from speakers and field trips, with a showcase contest paying prize money at the end.
The 10th annual Camp Destination Innovation, set to run June 11 to 28, is now accepting registrations.
Camp Destination Innovation is a summer camp for teens in the Wichita area who are interested in entrepreneurship and learning about how they can start a business.
This year’s theme is Socialpreneurship, a business model in which an entrepreneur applies the principles and guidance used by startup founders and entrepreneurs to a business that directly generates social change or impacts a social cause.
A social entrepreneur is primarily motivated by a desire to alleviate some kind of systemic social or cultural problem or give back to the community.
Examples include Tom’s Shoes, a company that donates one-third of its profits to help those in need get access to mental health care, or One4UsBrands, a Wichita company that uses money from selling clothes to uplift individuals, celebrate diversity, and promote equality and empowerment.
Some Camp DI students have already started businesses, while others just want to learn how to take the first steps to getting started.
Education during the three-week camp comes from guest speakers who share their knowledge with students and from field trips that give them an inside look at how existing businesses operate.
At the end of camp, participants showcase their businesses and have an opportunity to win prizes.
The top prize last year was $600.
Former students often return to Camp Destination Innovation year after year to learn more or improve on a past business idea.
And sometimes, prior students who have aged out of eligibility (Camp DI is for students 13 to 17) come back to help run it, said Camp DI creator Marquetta Atkins-Woods.
This year, former camper Lovette MBA is coming back as manager of programming for Camp DI. She attended camp when she was 15 years old, and went on to become a White House HBCU scholar and she just graduated from Langston University.
“We are so excited and proud of her,” Atkins-Woods said.
Other Camp DI success stories include Maci Morgan, who started Beach Bound Creations (https://linktr.ee/beachboundcreations), a jewelry company, and Elijah McCall, who created Legacy of Negasi’s First 5ive, a dynamic dice game.
Camp Destination Innovation will be held June 11 to 28 – Tue., Wed., Thu. and Fri. from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuition for the three-week camp is $40 per person. Classes will be held in the Partnership 2 Building (right behind GoCreate) on the Wichita State University campus.
