The $20 Boss program is an immersive learning program for building the enterprise skills of young people.

The school-based program gives students $20 of start-up capital to create, launch and operate their own social enterprise over the course of a school term. Students learn key elements of entrepreneurship and are taught how to earn money and create social good.

Ethical Enterprise

At Cedar, our Year 9 students formed Social Enterprises, using the $20 Boss program within their Health and Wellbeing elective. During the process, students have learnt how social enterprises are formed, and created their own enterprise, giving generously to important causes from the proceeds of their business activities.

Students were immersed into the complexities of running a business, and using that business to support a great cause, over a two-week training period. The thrill of being provided with start-up capital, hones student focus like nothing else. The products and impact these students created, were inspiring. The students generated more than $1200 of profit as a class, and donated more than $1000 of that to Compassion projects, Watoto – Keep a Girl in School and the Hutt St Centre.

Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration

At Cedar we appreciate the opportunity to engage our students in innovative and entrepreneurial tasks. Our students’ creativity, critical thinking and collaboration, enabled outstanding development and achievements for these businesses. This year the students ran ice cream stalls, made culturally-themed bandanas, held a sausage sizzle, sold toasties and extra canteen treats, cleaned gum from under classroom tables and sold morning brownies and muffins.

Mr David Webb, Middle School Co-ordinator