Winery Owners Partner With Nonprofit to Support Business Education in Napa Valley Schools

BizWorld.org®, an international non-profit providing fun and engaging entrepreneurship programs for elementary and middle school children, announced last week that Pascal and Melanie Levensohn, of Levensohn Vineyards, have selected the organization as their education nonprofit-of-choice and will donate $10,000 to BizWorld.org.

The Levensohns’ donation will help distribute BizWorld.org’s entrepreneurship programs to elementary and middle schools in Napa County.

This grant will help provide the BizWorld® program and teacher training in the St. Helena School District. It will start with 12 classrooms of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at St. Helena Elementary School.

“As residents of St. Helena, supporting the Napa community is a priority for us,” said Pascal Levensohn. “Being an entrepreneur for more than 35 years, I believe that helping children understand the basics of business early in their formal education can build a lasting foundation and desire to succeed later in life. BizWorld.org’s unique program provides kids not just with the basics of building a business, but also with crucial skills such as teamwork, leadership and financial management that will give them a competitive advantage to succeed in school and beyond.”

Pascal is a technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Melanie’s background includes international journalism and diplomacy, working with the World Health Organization and later the World Bank.

“BizWorld.org is thrilled to partner with Pascal and Melanie Levensohn to provide critical education resources to Napa Valley schools,” said Thais Rezende, CEO of BizWorld.org. “With their support, we will be able to reach 270 children in Napa Valley in the 2014/2015 school year. Nearly 90% of BizWorld programs are subsidized so that students in all schools become more engaged and develop an entrepreneurial mindset which they need to become financially responsible leaders of tomorrow. The support of philanthropists such as the Levensohns is crucial and appreciated in providing our programs in more and more low-income schools across the country.”

Info submitted from BizWorld.org:

BizWorld.org is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to challenge and engage elementary and middle school children across the cultural and economic spectrum with fun, hands-on entrepreneurship programs that promote financial responsibility, teamwork and leadership. Since 1997, BizWorld.org has provided three, project-based programs - BizWorld®, BizMovie® and BizWiz™ - that demonstrate these concepts to teachers and volunteers all over the world. Last year, the organization empowered 25,000 elementary and middle school children around the globe to experience being a leader of their very own startup. This brings BizWorld.org’s total impact up to more than half a million children in over 100 countries since the organization was founded. Based on data received by a subset of our teachers, 96 percent of classes show an increase in business, entrepreneurship, and financial knowledge after completing BizWorld.org programs. For more information, please visitwww.bizworld.org or call toll free 1-888-4-BizKid.

Photo credit: Joel Weiss