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Click here to watch a video about the Business Survey. |
When three high-school students got together to discuss the issues they face in Boulder, the lack of job opportunities for minors and unfair treatment in a few local businesses came up as two of their main concerns. Since that initial discussion, these same three high-school seniors, Michael Nehls, Jackson Porreca and Daniel Vigil, met once a week with Willem van Vliet—, Debbie Flanders Cushing, and Britt Wilkenfeld from CYE to discuss how they could research these issues and find ways to effectively address them.
In September, the research team came up with interview questions for local business owners and managers and decided to test them out on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. They approached 13 businesses and found 10 willing to answer their questions. Watch their short video to see preliminary results from their survey.
The plan is to continue this survey with businesses located throughout Boulder. The students will wait until they have analyzed all the data before determining the exact action they will take to address the issues. However, initial ideas for action include creating a youth-friendly sticker for businesses to put in their windows, creating a database of businesses that will hire minors, and holding a dialogue session between high-school students and local business owners to discuss some of the issues that each group faces.
The research team is looking for high-school students interested in becoming youth researchers for this project. If you want to get involved or find out more, email us at growingupboulder@gmail.com or boulderbusinesssurvey@yahoo.com. Or call 303-375-5199.
Read about the Business Survey project in the news!