Get Ready to Shop at the TREP$ Marketplace

Once again, students, aka entrepreneurs, are getting ready to display their selective wares and specialized services at the second annual TREP$ marketplace to be held tomorrow night.

The shopping extravaganza will be held at what usually serves as the , but for the night it will transform into a vast bazaar filled with such offierings as tie-dye shirts, jewelry, birdhouses,  babysitting services and delectable treats for people and pets.

The marketplace is expected to be filled to capacity, and about 150 student salespeople will promote their products and services over all available floor space in the gym, cafeteria and media center.

"We had to cap it, we had so many kids," explained Erica Slota, a guidance counselor at the middle school and a point person for TREP$.

Principal Richard Mangili said half of TREP$ marketers and salespeople this year are comprised of a new entrepreneurs, while the other half are returning business people. 

"We wanted to strike a balance, and let new students, the majority of whom are 5th and 6th graders, experience of running a business," said Mangili.

Students were required to apply and present their business idea in order to participate. Teachers, including Slota, Maria Travaglio, Lynn Hazelman and George Zergovits, and FSA volunteers ran a total of six workshops after school, where students learned business terms and all the various components of running their own business, from calculating costs, revenues and profits to marketing and promoting their product.

Amy Bricato, a Memorial Middle School parent , noted the Chamber of Commerce was also helpful in getting local business people to offer feedback and advice.

Hoiwever, students were treated as fellow business people when speaking to local merchants. "They received the feedback and could either take the advice or decide against it," Bricato said.

Bricato, a teacher in Bloomingdale, proposed the TREP$ program to the FSA last year after witnessing first hand the success of it in her school. 

The FSA agreed to purchase the TREP$ program and workbooks, with teachers and volunteers helping to run the workshops. Bricato said the program "took off like wild fire."

"This is such a positive experience, what school and learning is all about. It teaches students about business and helps their self confidence. I can't put down in words how much students receive from this," Bricato added.

Students, like other business owners are allowed to keep all their profits.  However, they are encouraged to reimburse their parents for any start up costs and materials in getting their businesses launched. In addition, the student owners of a pet treat business have decided to donate a  portion of their profits to an animal shelter.

The learning does not end with the culmination of the TREP$ Fair this Friday. A final workshop is held where the students discuss if their product was successful and what they learned. There are so many facets to this,  even if their product wasn't profitable, there is still positive learning," Bricato commented.

For Slota, as a guidance counselor what she finds most impactful is seeing students work together.

"They interact, are driven and work well as a team," she said.

The TREP$ marketplace will be open tomorrow from 7-9 p.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6:30 p.m.

To learn more about the program visit the TREP$ website.