CHICAGO – February 19, 2020
Teen Innovators, a company for teens by teens dedicated to fostering an innovative mindset in tomorrow’s leaders, announces a new collaboration with The Chicago Student Invention Convention. Teen Innovators will provide a wrap-around program to sponsor students who are not associated with a current sponsor program (such as a registered local school) and want to participate in the May 1st event. This is an example of how two local organizations are coming together to expand an offering to inspire curiosity and creative problem-solving in our youth.
In the past, more than 45 participating schools have sponsored on average 1,000 students in K-8th grade to present in the Student Invention Convention. Teen Innovators has developed after-school programs to prepare fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students who would like to attend the Convention by offering free virtual workshops during the six weeks leading up to the May 1st event.
Beth Krasczewski, a parent of a 5th grader at a local catholic school, said, “I am thrilled to now have the opportunity for my 11-year-old to participate in the Student Invention Convention and to be sponsored by Teen Innovators. My son is also excited to have access to one-on-one mentoring to prepare him for this event.”
“Teen Innovators launched in December and is already innovating how we deliver real-world educational opportunities in a virtual world by providing more access to programming that is fluid and flexible around the child’s academic needs and schedule. Younger teens, older teens, and business leaders are all learning from each other,” says Julie Silverstein, advisor for Teen Innovators and a member of Chicago Innovation’s Women’s Mentoring Co-Op.
Chicago is a town with big ideas and an incredible innovative ecosystem. Luke Tanen, Executive Director, Chicago Innovation, believes that “In times of crisis, there is usually mass amounts of innovation.”
When Teen Innovators Founder Christine Hutchison looked for talent to build her company, she turned to Chicago Innovation and its inherent network. She leveraged the strong relationships she built within the Women’s Mentoring Co-Op Networking community to develop her internal team and outside vendor resources.
“The Women’s Cohort Mentoring Co-Op is about women supporting and empowering women. We have our largest cohort to date this spring, which signifies how material our work is,” says Molly Matthias, manager Manager of Mentoring and Inclusion Programs for Chicago Innovation. “We are delighted that Christine Hutchison, one of our Mentors, is leveraging the programs of Chicago Innovation to create profound opportunities for today’s teens.”
Teen Innovators is now enrolling students age 11-16 in the after-school program on its website, TeenInnovators.com. Students interested in participating in the Convention on May 1st can signup online by visiting https://teeninnovators.hubspotpagebuilder.com/chicago-student-invention-convention. Together with Chicago Innovation, this company will be on the frontline of making change happen, rather than reading about innovation after it has occurred..
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About Teen Innovators: Teen Innovators Teen Innovators is a company for teens by teens fostering an innovative mindset in the leaders of tomorrow. It provides a peer community experience where students practice creative and innovative thinking through flexible mentoring and leadership classes that are led by teens for teens. Students, ages 11-16, in the after-school program, learn to think strategically, solve big world problems, and lead their peers with confidence. TI Students and Peer Mentors grow alongside each other and learn life skills that provide a foundation for success as a purpose-driven leader of tomorrow. The start-up is employing accomplished older teens to mentor younger peers on leadership and life skills and boost a sense of achievement. For more information, visit www.teeninnovators.com.
