This morning I made my first visit to The Drop-In Gallery (DIG) at 917 N. 5th Street in Phoenix. The Gallery is operated by Tumbleweed Youth Development Center, a drop-in shelter for runaway youth. The shelter has started a program through which young people who stay at the center can create art, which is then framed and sold at the First Friday Art Walks in downtown Phoenix. The kids get 70% of the proceeds of their art; the remainder goes to the Center to pay for the art supplies.

Steve Serrano, who runs the drop in shelter down the street from the Gallery would like to learn how to expand the business beyond selling art to selling custom designed and printed t-shirts created by the kids.nmThat is where OTEF comes in. We are going to offer our entrepreneurial education program to the artists this spring, at the gallery itself.

This won’t be an academic exercise; the business is already up and running. Our goal is to expand it. I was so excited that I can’t wait to start!

This is a perfect example of what can happen to the lives of ordinary people through entrepreneurship and creativity. We are so happy to be working with Tumbleweed.

If you live in Phoenix, drop in at the Gallery.