The Good Life Philanthropic Youth Foundation is using the power of Hip-Hop culture to address the issue of poverty and youth violence in Syracuse, NY.
On Saturday, The Good Life Foundation presented four young local entrepreneurs along with their stories of overcoming and creating businesses at an early age.
The entrepreneurs include:
- Chef Keonna Yearwood: a 23-year-old Celebrity Chef and owner of “Edabel Juliees” personal chef services.
- Indaria Jones: a marketing specialist and CEO of her own business called “The LikeMinded.”
- JT Houston: owner and CEO of H2 Fitness and Apparel, a company charged with focusing on improving the health of communities of color and communities at large through fitness.
- Janna Shai Stephens: 19-year-old owner of “Shai Photography,” a creative photography company.
The workshop, which was called “C.R.E.A.M. – Get the Money,” is inspired by the 1994 release by legendary rap group Wu Tang Clan. the term stands for “cash rules everything around me”.
“We have the highest concentration of poverty among Africans and Latinos, so what better way than to hand them the ability to make their own money and not be dependent on anyone else,” said the Founder of Good Life Youth Foundation, Hasan Stephens.
The organization aims to use Hip-Hop to connect with at-risk youth, hoping to move from opportunity to access, while introducing the skill-sets necessary to influence meaningful change to the lives of young people.
