Operation Hope 4 NOLA will showcase its entrepreneurial spirit during a pop-up shop featuring teen vendors and more on Saturday, April 9.
The free event will be held from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. at Frederick A. Douglass High School, 3820 St. Claude Ave. in New Orleans.
Operation Hope 4 NOLA boasts Douglass students who are participating in Aspen Challenge New Orleans. The Aspen Challenge is a Bezos family-funded program, which is a joint initiative with the Aspen Institute and the Bezos Family Foundation. It allows young people to take on the problems in their communities that they think are most important.
“Our mission at Operation Hope 4 Nola is to amplify the beauty of New Orleans and counter the narrative of violence in our neighborhoods through community, opportunity and exposure,” Frederick A. Douglass 10th grader Emily Osorio said. “We plan to facilitate community outreach events, such as this, to counter the narrative of violence in New Orleans by giving teenagers and young adults opportunities which will benefit their future and the community of New Orleans.”
Osorio said the main goal is to highlight and show off the creativity, services and merchandise of young entrepreneurs in the community.
“We were really specific on who would be at this event and who we wanted to represent our community,” Osorio said. “There will be over 13 student business owners participating and most of them are students at Douglass.”
The students enlisted the help of the NDR (Nicholls, Douglass, Renaissance) Bobcat Alumni Association.
Lisa Arceneaux Cobb, president and founder of NDR, was excited to share the group’s passion with other members of the alumni association. Cobb said the event is an occasion everyone can get behind.
“I believe all students should have the opportunity to participate in events such as this,” Cobb added. “This builds confidence and will increase their skills, in addition to increasing their sales. We are excited to support and work with the young business owners.”
Like Cobb, Osorio believes that positive moments and experiences come from working together closely with community members.
“We are excited about the pop-up shop because it shows unity – especially in our community,” Osorio said. “We are collaborating with community members, business owners and our school leaders. As students we have so much we can accomplish as a community when we all work together.”
The pop-up shop will include items from local teen vendors and merchants. Vendors include: Vintage Vogue 2K, DCS Line-Up, Private Joy Apparel, Waist Goddess Waist Beads, Bree Designz, Phyles Stuff, Havoc Worldwide, It’s A Woods Thang, KKrack Kandy and more.
Stephanie Hinton, Frederick Douglass dean of instruction, coaches the eager students. “I am so proud of this endeavor, as it was led and organized 100% by the students,” she said. “Most importantly, this isn’t the last one, we are planning to host other pop-ups in the future.”
Other members of the student group are: Jahzara Mason, Terry Franklin, Nicolas Williams, Emily Osorio, Chelsea Watson, Kayla Frey, Mia Darby and Trenton Vincent.
“Even at a young age, we are all entrepreneurs at heart,” Osorio said. “And this is great opportunity to showcase our products or services to sell.”