Most summer programming students hang out by the pool, embark on field trips or tap into their creative side with arts and crafts. However, a select group of middle-to-high school students enrolled in The Sanders Hand Young Billionaires Club are choosing to explore fiscal responsibility and entrepreneurship. 

“You’re learning stuff that school wouldn’t even teach you, and it’s fun here,” rising seventh grader Terry “TJ” Jones said. “Here, you can get away from school, learn stuff in a fun way and socialize with others.” 

Nestled in the Alief community, the nonprofit organization was founded by Sebastian Sanders in 2017 to provide at-risk youth across Harris County with the necessary financial training to break the cycle of poverty. The program has evolved with student accessibility, offering workshops, a series of summits or its traditional 6-to-8-week cohort. 

“Our students are ambassadors of change,” Sanders said. “When they leave these doors and go out into the real world, they have what they need to succeed, and that’s what this program is all about.” 

This year, Harris County Department of Education’s County Connections Youth Summer Initiative awarded The Sanders Hand a $5,000 grant to supplement student needs. Funding for the enrichment curriculum is approved by Harris County Commissioners and administered to vetted programs by the Center for Afterschool, Summer, and Enrichment for Kids (CASE for Kids).  

“I’m grateful for the County Connections grant because it’s allowed me to bring in a program coordinator to facilitate various activities and a media team that gives our kids a professional setting to practice interview techniques and marketing,” Sanders said.  

Each student’s motivation to join the Young Billionaires Club varies.  

Jones is a top Mandarin Immersion Magnet School student studying three languages. He started detailing cars almost a year ago and is looking for best practices to maintain and expand his enterprise. 

“My prices are good because I don’t charge as much as the professional companies, so I’m offering my clients a deal,” he said passionately. “I encourage them to check out the car when I’m done, and I want them to tell me anything I did wrong so I can correct it for them. I will get business cards soon so they can share them with their friends, and I can start getting more clients.”  

Family drives Katelynn Jones. The incoming high schooler started recognizing her mother’s financial burdens and wanted to lend a hand. She hopes to develop money management skills and learn how to start a profitable business.  

“I would see my mom trying to pay the bills, and sometimes she would be right there but doesn’t have it fully,” she said. “I want to spend all my money on fun things, but Mr. Sebastian taught me to prioritize bills before anything else.”  

Every week throughout the programming, the camp’s more than a dozen students participate in various activities that inform them how to build a business plan, outsource funding, manage commercial finances and develop customer service skills. A spin on popular games like Family Feud fosters an environment for students to collaborate while learning the necessary tools for a successful marketing campaign. The cohort practices financial independence during rounds of Monopoly and learns the value of real estate and negotiations.  

Program Coordinator Stephanie Charles and Sanders inspire students to embrace their entrepreneurial mindsets during a business development exercise that requires the group to practice their newfound knowledge. Each team is responsible for developing an original idea, creating a business plan with start-up numbers and profit expectations, and selling its product in a mock commercial.  

“It’s interesting to see how even the really quiet ones will come out of their shells when we have to make a digital ad or role-play for the commercials,” Charles laughed. “In our previous cohort, we even awarded a scholarship to a pair with a brilliant idea of a combination tongue scraper and flosser. It was cool to see them get excited and be their bosses.”  

Added Sanders: “We wanted to make marketing fun for them. We interviewed the kids on camera on media day, making them feel like professionals. It allowed them to be creative in their mock commercials while learning what it looks like to be a business owner because nobody will know who you are if you don’t market your product or service.” 

The Sanders Hand provides essential life skills that encourage student creativity and exposes them to paths for a brighter future where possibilities are endless. TJ is already considering his next business idea: selling desk phones to various companies. Katelynn hopes to get her bracelet business off the ground by the end of the year to help her family. 

With more than 1,000 Harris County students served to date, Sanders hopes to expand the program further to inform as many students as possible, no matter their circumstances.  

“We aren’t just talking about making a change here; we are actually seeing a change,” Sanders smiled. “These kids are creating businesses, and they come back to you excited saying, ‘Hey, I did this and made this amount of money.’ This is my God-given purpose where I can live out my dreams and give our kids the tools and resources to bring back to their families.” 

To learn more about County Connections, visit www.hcde-texas.org/county-connections.