By Sam Vahhaji, founder of Business for the Youth and Southwest High School student

Sam has been a passionate entrepreneur since the age of 5.  From making slime to selling candy to selling cozy slippers, Sam has done it all. Sam found an escape to business, as he said it has fully developed him as a person and how he views the world. After telling his peers and family about his latest venture, everyone wanted to learn Sam's secrets about operating a business. In addition to being an entrepreneur, Sam had a passion for helping underrepresented individuals and doing acts of good within his community. ​

Sam Vahhaji’s business ventures as a young kid.

After his peers and friends wanted to learn his ways of running a business, Sam taught his friends how to run a business, but he also wanted something impactful to come out of it. Sam knew how much business impacted him and how he knew there was a need for students to have access to learn how to run a business as it prepares them for the real world. Sam did some brainstorming. He asked himself, "How can I connect business and acts of service together?" That's when Business for the Youth was made. Sam started Business for the Youth in the middle of his sophomore year and began telling his friends about the organization. After opening the club, about 100 members joined.

Business for the Youth chapter members at Southwest High School.

During his sophomore year, Sam taught his friends the practicalities of running a business. Sam eventually registered Business for the Youth as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. In addition, the non-profit would organize many fundraising events in which the business was incorporated. Sam and his friends catered Raising Canes during their school lunch a few times. Sam organized members of the non-profit to sell the chicken tenders to get his members involved in a real-life business transaction.

Another event Sam organized was the student-led thrift convention. The thrift convention had a $5 entry fee, which would be saved to donate to a non-profit that further advanced the nonprofit’s charitable mission. By the end of the school year, the Southwest High School chapter raised over $2,000 through business practices and donations. After taking costs out for the events and supplies, they were left with about $1,300. As the school year ended, the Southwest  chapter donated the money to Alight, which helps aid refugee families worldwide.

From left: Sam Vahhaji, Makia Conway, Addison Saathoff, and Eloise Weld preparing for a Raising Cane's fundraiser at a Southwest High School lunch.

Another notable event by the nonprofit is the Afghan Refugee Kids toy donation drive. Sam's mother works as a medical interpreter with Afghan refugee families. Since 2021, there have been over 1,300 Afghan refugees placed in Minnesota due to the war in Afghanistan. After Sam's mom told him they had very little, Sam met one of the families. Conversing in Farsi hearing the stories revealed their struggles in adapting to a new life. English is Sam's second language, and knowing how hard it was to adapt to an environment when you don't speak the language helped him create a deeper connection with them. Since the holiday season was approaching, Sam wanted to put a smile on the kids' faces. Knowing the holidays would be tough, he was determined to act. Sam initiated a donation drive at his school, collecting toys, books, gloves, candy, and more.

After receiving over 150 donations, Sam gathered members from Business For The Youth and organized a day where we all packaged and placed the donations into stockings. To help make their holiday season happier, Sam and members of Business for the Youth distributed these stockings to families with the help of Alight. Sam said that giving out the first stockings to the kids and witnessing the smiles on the children's faces is a moment he'll never forget.

Business for the Youth leaders Sam Vahhaji and Shivani Patel hold toy stockings before giving them out to refugee families.

After Sam's friends from different schools saw Business for the Youth's impact, many wanted to open a chapter within their school. Fast forward to now, Sam has managed to open 20 chapters globally from the United States to Turkey. Sam hopes to have as many chapters open as possible.

Today, Business for the Youth is one of the fastest-growing youth-led business-taught non-profits globally. The non-profit helps youth run a business through service, preparing them for the real world and making them leaders within their community. If you are interested in starting a chapter, check out Business for the Youth’s website or its Instagram page.