Young entrepreneurs work to do good

Most adults are too busy to notice local problems, or assume that someone else will take care of the problem.

Most teens are so wrapped up in class work and sports and hanging with friends that they are barely aware of local people only just scraping by.

If made aware of a problem, most people would run a car wash, organize a canned-food drive or collect clothing donations — then go back to their own busy lives.

But four students at Los Alamitos High School — Maddy Locher, Andrew Cho, Jillian Cooper, and Sam de la Vega — have come together to build a sustainable long-term effort to help people right here in northwest Orange County.

With a pooled $300, they have created Hayze Innovations (“The Revolution Against Poverty”). They consciously modeled their business on Toms Shoes’ One for One concept that gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need for every pair of Toms shoes purchased.

Hayze Innovations class shirt

Hayze Innovations is donating 10% off the top of sales of trendy clothing. Their chosen charity is We Care of Los Alamitos.

“We want to give back,” says Andrew Cho. “We want to do something for our community.”

Their first item for sale is a shirt. They sold out the first batch of 24 and are now working to sell another twelve.

They have also enlisted the help of Josiah Beason as a clothing designer. Josiah currently attends college and is active in Cottonwood Christian Center.

But that’s not all.

They are also filming a documentary on local poverty, so that people will not be able to say, “I didn’t know.”

They plan to organize a seminar at Los Alamitos High School that will feature a We Care client as a speaker — so that local people in need will have a face, and it will be that much harder to ignore or overlook them.

For more information about Hayze Innovations, email info@hayzeinnovations.com.

Featured photo

The young entrepreneurs behind Hayze Innovations, from left: Maddy Locher, Andrew Cho, Jillian Cooper, and Sam de la Vega. Courtesy photo.

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About the Author

shelley

Shelley Henderson is a reformed computer and networking geek turned freelance writer. Now she only fixes her own networks and computers. That leaves time for writing, and writing and more writing. And editing the Orange County Breeze. Shelley most enjoys visiting and finding out about local businesses to write business profiles that allow our communities to learn more about their local businesses and the people who own and run them. If you own or manage a business in our coverage area and would like to invite Shelley to write a business profile, let us know.