I’ve
been involved with the Virtual Enterprise (VE) program in our local high schools
from its beginning nearly a decade ago and am a card-carrying champion of what
it brings to the community. I could go on for pages describing what it is, what
it does for students lucky enough to become involved, what it means for the
community, and ultimately its value to our society so in need of the continuous
infusion of young people steeped in the entrepreneurial ethic, but I’ll leave
that for another time and place. I will, however, take the opportunity to
suggest that if VE isn’t a part of your local schools' curriculum, you should
ask your district to look into it.
The
particular program with which I’ve become most attached calls itself the Santa
Barbara High School Dons Net Café (www.sbdnc.net), a name that suggests a menu of
activities that ranges from providing internet support to students; sale of
snacks during breaks; creation, printing, and sale of banners and personalized
clothing items to local businesses and civic organization; and a host of public
service activities including income tax preparation and filing support for
low-income individuals and families; neighborhood cleanup projects; the
collection of cell phones, rechargeable batteries, and other recyclables in
conjunction with the Santa Barbara City and County waste management departments
and Marborg Industries, a local waste collector and recycling center
operator.
What I’ve found most exciting about the Public Service aspect of VE has been
its inexorable march into sustainability related projects, with recycling
efforts at the leading edge. Because the Dons Net Café is so highly visible for
all of its activities, it has become a role model affecting how other students
view public service. Moreover, these projects are no longer considered
make-work activities by the community, but valuable contributors to the public
good. What I see in these students is a vital and vibrant resource, eager to
play a genuine role in improving the world they are about to inherit. Because
waste management is the most accessible of all the community’s environmental
pursuits, it’s the one on which the Dons have focused their attention…a thought
you might wish to ponder as you look at ways to add to your own resource
base.