Fifteen-year-old Amiya Alexander, a 2010 Black Enterprise Teenpreneur nominee, is striving to help her community thrive through dance and health education. Her mission: to eradicate childhood obesity through her mobile dance academy. The academy, for Detroit students age 2 to 12, provides dance lessons in ballet, tap, jazz, salsa, and hip-hop. Amiya also teaches classes in healthy eating and wellness.
Amiyah’s efforts are also helping keep those in her community from chipping away at their wealth. Annual healthcare costs to treat obesity-related illness are about $190.2 billion, or nearly 21% of annual medical spending in the U.S., according to a report in the Journal of Health Economics. Childhood obesity is responsible for about $14 billion in direct medical costs. Obese children often remain obese in adulthood. As adults, they are more likely to struggle financially than those who are not obese. Some studies have shown that obesity is associated with more missed time from work and lower wages and household income.
Through her for-profit company, Amiya’s Mobile Dance Academy, Amiya teaches students who would not otherwise be able to afford the cost of formal dance instruction, which can cost anywhere from $30 to $60 a class. With the help of donations, she is able to offer her students a discounted rate of $11.50 per class. She has also created a scholarship fund to help students who cannot afford to pay. Amiya’s company receives monetary donations as well as dance equipment such as pointe shoes and leotards. Television personality Dr. Phil also has a section on his foundation website through which donations can be made.
Amiya, who has been dancing since she was 2 years old, got the idea for her own dance academy at the age of 9. She discussed it with her mother, Teberah Alexander, who immediately agreed to help with her effort. Teberah, with the help of family donations, made a total investment of about $20,000 to get the mobile dance studio up and running. This money helped them purchase a 52-passenger school bus, have the seats removed, and have ballet barres and wood flooring installed. (Classes are held inside the pink school bus.)
The decision to create a studio on wheels was a response to high gas prices and parents’ busy work schedules. In addition, Amiya says that since many of the families may not have cars, she chose to go to them. This way, classes would always be accessible to the students and convenient for the parents. Alexander credits her mother and Dr. Ben Carson with influencing her desire to give back to her community. “Reading Dr. Ben Carson’s book Gifted Hands (Zondervan; $6.99) was transformative. He is from the inner city of Detroit and has accomplished so much and has really given back.â€
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Amiya’s family has always considered giving back to be part of their work ethic. The 15-year-old volunteers at the Boys & Girls Club and the local children’s hospital. Her advice to those interested in philanthropy: “Share your talent with others—don’t just focus on yourself.†In addition, Amiya’s mother runs her own organization, Compassionate Home Care Services, providing home healthcare.
Giving back and helping others is a family affair, but they both realize that their businesses must be run properly. Amiya has Gail Perry-Mason, co-author of Girl, Make Your Money Grow! (Crown Business; $15), as her financial planner. She also has an accountant and bookkeeper on her financial team.
If you have a child interested in philanthropy, Teberah advises that you actively listen to gauge their level of interest and to help direct their efforts. She taught her daughter that a person isn’t successful until they are sharing their talent with others. Through her philanthropy, Amiya helps those in her community and plants a seed, signaling others to do the same. Her future plans include continuing to dance and becoming a physician. One of her goals is to save some of the profits from her business so that she can attend Harvard Medical School to become an OB-GYN.
HOW SHE DID IT
– Take care of business. Even though it’s philanthropy, make sure you have the business end taken care of. Amiya has a financial
– Conduct a talent assessment. Take stock of your talents are and determine which you can expand on to offer your community. Amiyah believes it is incumbent upon us to share our talents with others. Assess the needs around you and consider how you can help. What comes naturally is typically what will work best.
– Don’t say “can’t.†Amiyah says that she is not allowed to say the word “can’t.†She believes that all things can be done through faith in God. She says she realizes that there will be some bumps along the way, but don’t give up. The creation stage will often be the toughest, but the feeling of accomplishment will be worth it.Â
–Additional reporting by Sheiresa Ngo