Franklin Regional entrepreneurship students aid local nonprofits

A group such as the Export Historical Society has plenty of experience sifting through boxes of dusty photographs and organizing them into a proud display of the borough’s past.

But what about creating and boosting an Instagram post that promotes an event where people can actually come out and see those photos? That’s where it’s helpful to have contacts such as the students in Franklin Regional Senior High School’s entrepreneurship program, which has quickly evolved in four years from a club to a grant-supplemented class, helping kids gain real world experience.

“We wanted to get our students exposed to a bunch of different, real projects,” said Roger Crider, who co-teaches a total of 25 entrepreneurship students alongside multimedia teacher Becky Magness. “We’ve been working with the Export Historical Society, Murrysville Area Meals on Wheels, the Delmont Public Library, and every year we also have worked with the Westmoreland Conservancy.”

Students helped both the library and conservancy by organizing a “StoryWalk” at Morosini Reserve in Murrysville, creating a recreational path lined with the laminated pages of a children’s book, so that families can get some exercise and enjoy a story along the way.

In addition to their other projects, entrepreneurship students also began working with the Murrysville Recreation Department.

“One of their students wanted to work with us to promote the farmers market,” said Carly Greene, recreation director. “So, we worked with him to help guide things like Instagram posts. Once they found an outlet with us, additional students reached out looking for more projects.”

Greene and Amy Wengrzyn, recreation program director, put them to work, Crider said.

“One group is doing a lot of social media work, another is doing that and also creating fliers to promote different events,” Crider said. “I think they’ve targeted Instagram because the recreation department mostly does Facebook posts. Our kids are really comfortable with Instagram, so they’re helping to link those promotional materials together.”

One thing both the department and the class are excited about is a video project for the farmers market.

“Carly’s always wanted to have vendor interviews, so that’s kind of what they’ve been working on,” Wengrzyn said. “They’re reaching out to market vendors, setting up some Zoom meetings and getting some interviews that we can post to the website and to social media.”

Entrepreneurship students also will help the recreation department conduct a survey asking Murrysville residents about the future of its neighborhood parks.

“We want some input on what people want them to be,” Wengrzyn said.

Students are working on a new website for the Murrysville-Export Rotary Club, and helping to create a new logo for the Monroeville Foundation.

“It’s always been technology stuff that these groups have struggled with,” Crider said. “They don’t have either the time or the expertise in those areas. And they don’t want to have to go out and pay someone to do it.”