Students test their biz skills with Wick It

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There are countless businesses doing well in our fair city, but there are a select few that do this in their own unique way (and chances are you haven't heard of them).
"Wick It" is one such company. Wick It is a Junior Achievement Company comprised of Grade 10, 11, and 12 students from Dartmouth and Prince Andrew high schools. They are part of the JA Company Program, which enters local high schools and helps student volunteers set up their own business. This program aims to help students discover free enterprise, develop leadership skills, and understand economic principles, and issues facing commercial business today.
"We meet once a week for 18 weeks," says Sara Yusuff, president of Wick It. "During this time we create, market, and sell our products to the best of our abilities."
JA companies not only teach participants business savvy, they also give them a sense of confidence and accomplishment, and allow them to flex their creative muscles in areas in which they are interested or show strength.
"These students are expected to follow through on many responsibilities," says Kim Piccott, a teacher and one of Wick It's three advisors. "They have to participate in and contribute to meetings, buy shares in the company, sell and promote their product, learn how to write a business plan, as well as tackle some difficult decisions that could affect the company drastically."
Katie Purdy, the brainchild of Wick It's main product, has been making origami starts since she was in junior high, and her goal is to make one million stars by her high school graduation. She literally keeps garbage bags full of these stars in her home and is set to break a world record! The other members of the company decided that her stars were so fun and unique that they would be great to incorporate into their product.
Once Purdy taught the other employees how to fold, the paper stars were turned into whimsical Christmas ornaments, earrings and decorations; which turned out to be great Christmas and Valentine's Day gifts.
Wick It is proof that JA companies instill a great sense of pride and hard work in student participants. Of course, it does help when the students participating are critical thinkers and hard workers to begin with.
Wick It will be selling their products on Saturday mornings at Alderney Landing Farmer's Market on the Dartmouth Waterfront, where you will find their origami earrings and Wick It candles.
For more information, contact the VP of IT at ja.wickit@gmail.com, or visit their website www.jawickit.tk.
February celebrates Junior Achievement Awareness month! To become a volunteer and inspire future business leaders, visit www.janovascotia.org
weeklydartmouth@hfxnews.ca