"Students mark Valentine's Day by adopting Malayan sun bear"
South Miami News, by Robert Hamilton, Feb.-Mar., 2003

Fifth grade classes from South Miami's Ludlam Elementary School presented a special Valentine to the Malayan sun bear cub at Miami Metrozoo in the form of a check for $589.35. Pictured with the students is zookeeper Andrea Adams.

Two fifth grade classes from South Miami's Ludlam Elementary School presented a special valentine to the Malayan sun bear cub at Miami Metrozoo.

The students gave a check for $589.35 to Miami Metrozoo to adopt the young bear. The donation was made even more special because the students earned the money by operating their own business, selling products they have created.

The hard-working fifth graders are participating in KidVentures Inc., a nonprofit entrepreneurial program for children, now in its fifth year. Created by businesswoman and designer Alice Horn, the program's vision is to bring the real world into the classroom.

Students run an actual business, and are exposed to a wide range of business skills. They design their own logo, conduct market research, develop a line of products, set a fair price, and maintain income and expense ledgers.

Community involvement is a big part of the of the KidVentures program. Students conduct business-to-business relationships with other entrepreneurs, in real business settings. As part of the curriculum, they make presentations to professional associations such as the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs. They also hold regularly scheduled sales events at local banks.

At the end of the program, they decide as a group how they would like to spend their profits, often "giving back" to a cause of their choice. The tradition with Metrozoo evolved three years ago, when the students decided to adopt a cheetah. Last year, they voted to select the white Bengal tiger and this year, the Malayan sun bear cub.