We recently connected with The Camkuy Group and have shared our conversation below.
Hi The CamKuy Group, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.
In a way, we do. This summer, we hosted the “I AM the Solution” STEM Summer Camp, where 45 students benefited from learning about STEM, through project-based learning (PBL). We taught students about how to solve problems, personally and publicly.
The students served, all African-American, were able to experience free STEM projects, hear from guest speakers from our community, and learn about how hunger affects the Memphis community.
This population was “underserved” because there is often a lack of STEM education for Black and Brown students, especially throughout the summer. However, we were able to do this program in conjunction with Havenview Middle School’s Summer Learning Academy and financial support from our donors.
Thank you to our Chief Operating Officer (COO) Nia Tuggle, a product of Havenview MS and Whitehaven HS, who recommended we partner with Havenview for this program. Additionally, thank you to Principal Darla Young-Berry, for inviting us into the school with no hesitation or excuse.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Our mission is to put unity in our community through boundary-breaking, diversity-building initiatives. Our vision is for everyone, everywhere to experience equitable access. Our core value is that Initiative fuels Initiative, reflective of our mission to be a catalyst for change through the work we do for the people of our community.
What sets our non-profit organization apart from others is that we are 100% owned and operated by young adults and teens, that are active in high school and college. Additionally, our crew members are products of the communities we give back to.
Personally, our President/CEO Cameron Kuykindall believes, “We wait until we are older to pour into younger. Why can’t young pour into young? Iron sharpens iron, right?” Our focus is to serve all members of our community, especially children and youth, which our CEO also considers our “most precious population.”
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Given that our group is led by Youth & Young Adults, we had to unlearn the notion of “staying in a child’s place.” This phrase, revered by many parents, has limited the creativity of kids across our country. The boundaries we have broken and the table we created (when we did not receive a seat) were done by unlearning this negative connotation of what children should and should not do.
Just as we have unlearned this, we help other young people do the same.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Our clients are the people of the community. We are servant-leaders, chronologically and culturally. We source “new clients” through forging new partnerships between churches, schools, businesses, governmental agencies and officials, and other non-profit organizations. By partnering together, we recognize that the sum of our parts is greater than them individually. This has been the cornerstone of our success thus far.
Thank you to our Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jayden Richardson, who supervises our Department of Finance, which includes our Strategic Partnerships Initiatives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/thecamkuygroup
- Instagram: @thecamkuygroup
- Facebook: @thecamkuygroup
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