Who We Are

Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas (YEK) is a non-profit organization that works with high schools, teaching business and entrepreneurial skills in the classroom. YEK is in all public high schools in Wichita, Augusta High School, Newton High School, Clearwater High School, Campus High School in Haysville, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Topeka High School, Highland Park High School in Topeka, Lawrence High School, and four Kansas City, Kansas high schools. Since its establishment in 1991 by the Charles G. Koch Foundation, more than 8,200 students have graduated from the program. YEK is a licensed program of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, based in New York.

The three goals of the YEK class are:

1. To give students the tools they need to start a business.
2. To help students understand they can be entrepreneurial even if they work for someone else; and
3. To encourage higher education (college, trade school, etc.)

In addition to classroom activities and lessons, YEK students learn valuable business skills through hands-on activities outside the classroom. Each fall, YEK students go on a Wholesale Field Trip, in which they tour area businesses and use seed money loaned by YEK to buy food wholesale to sell to their fellow students on Market Day. In the spring, the Dare 2 Dream workshop features guest speakers who inspire and educate the students. At the end of each school year, each YEK student chooses a business idea and develops a business plan which is used to compete for scholarships and/or see money to start their businesses. After graduating from YEK, students may apply for summer partnerships, similar to internships, with area businesses.

Get Involved

The success of YEK is shared and driven by members of the business community who see YEK as an opportunity to make a visible, positive impact on the lives of young people. Opportunities for individual and/or corporate involvement exist in the areas of guest speaking, mentoring, summer business partnership, event volunteer, program support, scholarship support and sponsorship support. To learn more, contact us today!