Dickinson County youth will soon have more tools to turn their ideas into real-world business experience.

Driving Dickinson County has received a $10,000 Networked Community Solutions Grant from Network Kansas to support Young Roots Market, a new youth entrepreneurship initiative designed to provide young people with shared equipment, hands-on learning and business education.

The initiative brings together cross-sector representation from Driving Dickinson County, the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau, Community Foundation of Dickinson County, A Station and Chisholm Trail Extension District (K-State Research and Extension) around a shared goal of creating more opportunities for young entrepreneurs.

Young Roots Market is one of 11 collaborative, community-building projects receiving funding through the latest round of Networked grants across Kansas.

At the center of Young Roots Market is a simple idea: a young entrepreneur shouldn’t have to already own everything needed for a market booth before having the opportunity to run one.

Through the grant, Driving Dickinson County will create a shared lending library of market stands, canopy tents, signage, tablecloths and wind-stabilizing weights that youth vendors can borrow, helping reduce the upfront cost of participating in markets and other selling opportunities.

The initiative will pair those resources with education.

Chisholm Trail Extension District will provide hands-on workshops in gardening, cooking and maker skills, helping youth develop products they can bring to market. Driving Dickinson County will lead business basics sessions covering concepts including pricing, costs and net profit.

An original black-and-white, colorable comic book will also introduce those business lessons through storytelling in a format young entrepreneurs can keep and use.

“Young Roots Market is about removing some of the barriers that can keep a great idea from ever getting started,” said Natalie Muruato, CEO of Driving Dickinson County. “A young person shouldn’t need to already own a tent, display or other market equipment to discover that they have an entrepreneurial spark. By combining shared resources with hands-on learning and business basics, we’re giving Dickinson County youth a place to try something, learn from it and begin seeing themselves as entrepreneurs. That’s part of what becoming Roadmarkable looks like — creating opportunities for the next generation to build, grow and imagine what’s possible right here.”

The investment comes as young entrepreneurs are already finding opportunities to test their ideas in Dickinson County.

This summer, A Station in Abilene has hosted Kids Farmers Markets, giving young vendors a place to create products, build their booths, interact with customers and experience firsthand what it is like to make a sale.

Among the youth participating was 15-year-old Emil Pickerign, who developed an interest in metal art through welding class. After learning about plasma cutting, he used money earned through summer jobs to purchase a plasma cutter of his own. His first vendor booth featured metal artwork, including colorful flowers, and he plans to continue creating pieces, taking custom orders and attending additional markets.

Seven-year-old Hailey was also among the youth getting firsthand business experience, interacting with customers and handling sales at a booth offering products ranging from baked goods and duck eggs to produce, handmade wooden items and sewn creations.

The Kids Farmers Market is an existing A Station effort separate from the new Young Roots Market initiative, but it demonstrates the creativity, initiative and interest in entrepreneurship already present among Dickinson County youth. A Station is also part of the cross-sector team collaborating on Young Roots Market, bringing firsthand experience creating opportunities for young vendors into the new initiative.

Young Roots Market is designed to build on that local momentum by making resources and education more accessible to young entrepreneurs across Dickinson County.

Cross-sector collaboration is at the heart of Young Roots Market.

The project brings together Driving Dickinson County, the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau, Community Foundation of Dickinson County, A Station and Chisholm Trail Extension District (K-State Research and Extension), connecting organizations with different areas of expertise, resources and community relationships around youth entrepreneurship.

Chisholm Trail Extension District will provide hands-on workshops in gardening, cooking and maker skills, while Driving Dickinson County will coordinate the shared equipment library and lead business basics education. A Station brings experience from its existing Kids Farmers Market, where local youth are already gaining firsthand experience creating products and selling directly to customers.

The Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau and Dickinson County Community Foundation round out the cross-sector team as community partners supporting the collaborative effort as Young Roots Market develops.

That approach reflects the purpose of Networked grants: to activate cross-sector collaboration among Kansas groups leading to bold changes in communities.

“Networked’s grant-making has brought true collaboration and partnership between organizations that share vision and passion for changemaking in their communities,” said Christina Long, Strategic Director, Networked.

Over the past five years, Network Kansas, in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, has awarded $460,000, bringing the total number of projects funded to 50.

“We’re so excited to see these projects move forward and we know they will create momentum for transformational change in the communities they serve,” said Steve Radley, CEO of Network Kansas, a Kansas-based nonprofit dedicated to the growth of entrepreneurship and small business.
For Dickinson County, the investment creates an opportunity to build on something already visible locally: young people are willing to create, learn and put their ideas in front of customers. Young Roots Market will help provide more of the tools, knowledge and connections needed to take that next step.