Dream Builders 4 Equity was selected as one of the awardees of Washington University’s Social Enterprise Innovation Competition, competing in a field of more than 150 startups.
Dream Builders uses an innovative model to provide at-risk youth with the opportunity to attain financial ownership in real estate located in low-income, highly distressed communities. This ownership will be earned by attending life- and job-skill courses and contributing to community-development efforts.
Winners of the competition receive a one-year intense entrepreneurship support program, structured workshops, access to community mentors and SEIC staff, an opportunity to be matched with graduate-level interns from Washington University, and an opportunity to receive small amounts of investment during the year, depending on the venture type and progress.
“It was a bittersweet day,” Michael Woods, co-founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity, said of receiving the award. “The day we were awarded for Dream Builders success was also the same day another white police officer was acquitted for killing another black man.”
Neal Richardson is the other co-founder of Dream Builders 4 Equity, which currently partners with Beaumont High School, where they launched their first pilot this past spring.
The youth are publishing a book describing their experiences, how the program has benefited their present lives and will assist them in the future, and how they plan to continue to provide support to underserved communities.
The book will be for sale when Dream Builders 4 Equity celebrates its inaugural cohort of students 5-7 p.m. Thursday, September 28 at the William J Harrison Education Center, 3140 Cass Ave. All profits from book sales will be utilized to establish their personal savings accounts.
For more information about Dream Builders, email michael@dreambuilders4equity.org or visit www. dreambuilders4equity.org.
For more information on the Social Enterprise Innovation Competition, visit https://seic.wustl.edu.
