CBA's Get Connected IT Ambassadors Give Local Small Businesses a Boost
Chatham Business Association’s (CBA) new Get Connected IT Ambassadors program develops young adults' computer literacy skills so that they can in turn, assist small local businesses with their computer based needs.
Most of CBA's IT Ambassadors, who range in age from 16-24 are from Chicago's South Side and were referred to CBA by local community organizations. After completing the Get Connected IT Ambassadors training program, Ambassadors receive a certificate validating their skill set.
The program is seven weeks long. Participants train in several computed related disciplines including e-mail marketing, social media marketing (including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and website development.
The Ambassadors spend four weeks of the seven week program assisting small business owners directly and receive financial stipends for their work.
“In our opinion, the IT Get Connected Ambassadors is true entrepreneurship at work because it’s the youth and we’re incorporating technology and planning for the future which is part of our mission so we’re assisting existing businesses but we’re also creating entrepreneurs for the future,” said Melinda Kelly, CBA Executive Director. “Young people teach you something, they always come with something new. This is a great connection that I just think is full circle.”
CBA was awarded nearly $36,000 from the City of Chicago’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection’s (BACP) Small Business Center after submitting a proposal requesting funding for the Get Connected IT Ambassadors program.
“The City of Chicago received many proposals on innovative ways to support small businesses through our Neighborhood Small Business Development Center Initiative,” said, Roxanne Nava, Chief Small Business Operator at the City of Chicago. “The Chatham Business Association’s IT Ambassador program was selected for its unique approach to leverage technology by enhancing existing businesses with young entrepreneurs. Many of the IT Ambassadors did such an amazing job at creating a web presence using technology to help the businesses manage their sales and help businesses promote themselves on a different platform that many of these IT Ambassadors were offered permanent positions with the small businesses.”
CBA operates within the City of Chicago's Delegate Agency program where funding is provided to non-for profits to support objectives including small business development, site development or area-wide marketing, maintenance and management within a specified commercial business district.
“We’re a city Delegate Agency, which means we’re contracted with the City of Chicago,” said Kelly when asked about funding. “When the city’s opportunity for funding came this year, we gave them the data to show them that the service was necessary, the businesses needed It and we didn’t have the infrastructure in place to execute it all with just the staff we have so the brainstorm was to take these youth who have this natural talent, help them hone their professional skills and match them with those business owners.”
For more information about the Chatham Business Association or the Get Connected IT Ambassadors visit http://www.cbaworks.org/index.php. For more information about the City of Chicago’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection’s (BACP) Small Business Center visit http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bacp.html.
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