CareerBridge Students Share Holiday Sweetness to Support Summer Internship in Oakland
By Chelsea Boniak | March 12, 2019
Thank you for giving the gift of ‘Sweetness’… and the opportunity for youth to learn how to grow a business and fund a summer internship in Oakland.
Summer Internship in Oakland: Important for Career Development
Who doesn’t like a little holiday treat at Christmas? This holiday season, CareerBridge partnered with Ralph J. Bunche Academy High School in West Oakland to organize a tasty enterprise combining the efforts of CareerBridge Entrepreneurship Training Program students and the Ralph Bunche Culinary Arts Program. Bunches of Sweetness was an amazing opportunity for students to get first-hand experience running a student-led business and support opportunities for a summer internship in Oakland.
Bunche Academy students worked with Chef David Isenberg to create a classic product that captured the essence of the holiday season: chocolate peppermint bark, combining the smoothness of white and semi-sweet chocolates with the crunch of crushed peppermint sticks.
CareerBridge students then worked together to create a business plan that included marketing and fundraising strategies, accounting, and holiday gift packaging design. Students advertised to their friends, family and supporters of Children Rising and Bunche Academy.
“CareerBridge taught us how to sell our product and what to say to the people we were selling to,” Student Devin Tobar explained. “Engaging with the customers was the most fun part for me.”
“I’m really grateful for this entrepreneurship opportunity… We all had pride in what we accomplished.” – Rosa Ramirez, CareerBridge Student
Your support of CareerBridge provided students the opportunity to learn and fundraise for their summer internship in Oakland.
After an energetic campaign to collect orders, produce and package the product, and make deliveries, the students sold over 200 pounds of Bunches of Sweetness. That’s a lot of chocolate! “We were responsible for promoting our product and getting it out there, so that what we made would be profitable,” said student Timothy Suisala. “We sold more than I thought we would.”
Funds from the sales went directly towards Bunche Academy’s career-readiness programs, including a significant portion that went towards $300 stipends for summer internships in Oakland for students who participated in Bunches of Sweetness.
Student Rosa Ramirez told us, “I’m really grateful for this entrepreneurship opportunity, which taught us a lot about how to market a business. We all had pride in what we accomplished.”
We are grateful for all of our supporters who placed orders for Bunches of Sweetness and helped make this student-centered campaign a success. We hope you enjoyed the delicious treat even more by knowing that you contributed to the growth and development of West Oakland student entrepreneurs.
Be on the lookout for more seasonally inspired Bunches of Sweetness products!
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