JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville teenager is making big moves in the entrepreneurship world.
Richard Cuff, founder of NASEMBA Business Alliance, announced in a news release that Christianna Alexander, a 15-year-old Jacksonville-based entrepreneur and founder of Sweet Christi’s Soaps and Bath Products will serve as Youth Ambassador for the Operation ECLIPSE Campaign.
Alexander is a 2021 recipient of the $5,000 Invisalign® ChangeMakers Award.
Operation ECLIPSE is a Jacksonville-based awareness campaign that advocates for the positive representation of local entrepreneurs. It also emphasizes the economic impact that entrepreneurs are having on the local economy.
Through Operation ECLIPSE, NASEMBA Business Alliance's goal is to raise funds to support local initiatives to benefit small businesses while helping political leaders better understand the historical and social significance of local entrepreneurial families.
“Yes, we need to address issues like gun violence, health disparities, and regressive ballot initiatives but the negative reaction to the Orange Crush Festival proves that there are major disparities in the way our young entrepreneurs are viewed. We will work with our political leaders to help close the wealth gap by shaping policies that will direct stimulus dollars to these young entrepreneurs,” said Cuff.
The campaign will also serve to advocate for the use of local tax-payer dollars to incubate small businesses while encouraging business owners and executives to mentor young entrepreneurs while also supporting initiatives that provide leadership, intervention, and protection to benefit our at-risk youth. “Having a mentor is important and I can’t put into words how important it was being able to talk to successful women who look like me,” said Alexander.
Alexander will speak at the upcoming NASEMBA Lunch and Learn session after the next Top to Bottom Tuesday Networking Tour which will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, at Juliette’s in the Omni Hotel.
Proceeds from the NASEMBA MeetUp events will help create a business incubation fund that will be used to support new businesses like Alexander’s Sweet Christi’s Soaps and Bath Products. Cuff said, “I believe entrepreneurs can help bring solutions to many of the social issues we face as a community and the only way to address the hate we’re seeing in our politics is to eclipse it with love. We must shine a bright light on the young entrepreneurs who are doing positive things in our city and understand that we are shaping the way our children think about themselves.”
