That’s Delivered Podcast
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That’s Delivered Podcast
Clippers to Changemakers: Milan Dennie’s Journey in Youth Empowerment and Community Transformation
Have you ever wondered how a simple barbershop can transform into a beacon of hope and empowerment for youth? In this episode, we uncover the inspiring story of Milan Dennie, a visionary barber whose journey from a challenging childhood in Gary, Indiana, led him to redefine community impact. Milan's barbershops in Indiana and Minneapolis serve not just as businesses but as hubs for mentorship and youth engagement, including a converted basement youth center that came to life during the pandemic.
We also dive into "It's Our Neighborhood," a groundbreaking entrepreneurship initiative empowering young minds with essential business skills and confidence. The program, supported by local collaborations, culminates in a business fair that showcases the next generation of leaders.
Additionally, we explore innovative educational programs in St. Paul that combine hands-on learning with college-level business concepts. With activities like managing a food trailer and engaging in strategic thinking through chess, these programs are shaping confident, capable youth. Plus, Jeole Johnson from UPS joins us to discuss his commitment to community development and creating opportunities for the next generation.
Key Takeaways:
- Milan Dennie’s Vision:
- From a tough upbringing in Gary, Indiana, to becoming a community leader in Indiana and Minneapolis.
- Converted his barbershop basement into a youth center during the pandemic to support and mentor local teens.
- "It’s Our Neighborhood" Program:
- Offers a structured curriculum to teach youth entrepreneurship and business skills.
- Culminates in a business fair, giving participants the opportunity to showcase their ideas and gain recognition.
- Strengthens community collaboration and fosters a sense of pride and ownership among youth.
- Innovative Educational Programs in St. Paul:
- Teach college-level business concepts through hands-on activities like managing a food trailer.
- Incorporate strategic thinking and confidence-building through a youth chess club.
- Highlight personal success stories, such as Tamika, a shy teen transformed into a confident leader.
- Jeole Johnson’s Insights:
- A UPS leader dedicated to creating nurturing environments for youth.
- Discusses collective efforts needed to inspire and support the next generation of leaders.
Tune in to hear stories of transformation, resilience, and the incredible power of mentorship and community programs in shaping future leaders!
Its Our Neighborhood Non-Profit Link
King Milan Barbershop Facebook Link
KARE 11 News Land of 10,000 Stories Link
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Welcome back to that's Delivered. I'm your host, ray, and we're continuing our series with kids and careers, highlighting incredible people making real difference in the next generation. Joining me is someone whose work has been turning heads and inspiring communities. It is Milan Denny. Milan is recently featured in the Care 11 News and their Land of 10,000 Stories series for his amazing efforts and teaching teens business skills throughout his barbershop program. His work also his work is blended with mentorship education, giving kids tools to succeed in life and business. And along with Milan, we have joined with another special guest, ups Stuart Joy Lee Johnson. He's a dedicated heart worker making sure things happen here at UPS and also he's making sure things happen for where his heart is is helping the young ones in the community. He's the backbone there.
Speaker 1:So really appreciate having you both here on the show and wanted to make sure we get the word out for everybody to know what you guys are doing, all the great work you're doing. How are you guys doing? Good, good, good. Thanks for having me. Yeah, that's awesome. I wanted to get to know both of you guys a little better. I know that was a great episode, man. It was amazing to see you guys do that. Showcase what you're doing for the news, for the community, and help others to see your story of what you're doing Helping young ones. Man, that's amazing. I thought you guys did a beautiful job with it and they just showcased it very well.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, appreciate that, yeah you guys doing that, so I want to start with Milan. Before you dive into an incredible work that you're doing right now, let's go back to the beginning. I know they shared about your youth and how it wasn't always easy. Can you tell us a little bit?
Speaker 2:about your challenges you faced growing up and how those experiences shape you where you're at today. I started out in Gary, indiana. It out, uh, in gary, indiana. So, um, by the time I was born, gary wasn't a like poppin city, so it was kind of poverty and so, uh, single parent home, uh, troubled child getting into you know, uh, justice system and things at an early age like that. But, um, I always was a barber. Since the age of like 11, I've been cutting hair, and so when I turned 18, uh, I pretty much knew that that was going to be my way out of the system, so to speak, and I went to barber school at 19.
Speaker 2:From there on, I ended up opening a barber shop in Indiana for 14 years.
Speaker 2:I ended up opening a barbershop in Indiana for 14 years. I moved here and ran both of the barbershops for about two and a half years, and then I sold the one in Gary, indiana, to Artist Martin. He's one of my barbers here now because he ended up closing it over here. But uh, yeah, and I just started focusing on, um, our non-profit, it's our neighborhood and during the pandemic, I uh, it was a perfect opportunity for me, since we were closed, uh, barber shops were closed, so I just turned the basement into a small youth center for youth and for kids and then we opened up. I think the day we opened for I think the day the barbershop opened be back. So we did our grand opening day for our free back to school event we do every year for kids and it's been about a little over four years now and we just are, you know, just trying to expand our programs and expand our space and, you know, get known for what we're doing so that we can, you know, do even more work along those lines.
Speaker 1:What was the turning point that made you change direction in life? What do you think it was?
Speaker 2:Seriously, I don't really think. Um, I don't really think. Let me say like this I think if I had the opportunities, I would have never really got it. So I don't know if it was like a turning point. I always wanted to do good but I just didn't have those opportunities out there for me or mentors there to guide me. I think, like once I got able to make like my own decisions as an adult, once I turned 18, I just started making my decisions that I knew would be right and work for me, my decisions that I knew would be right and work for me. And after that I just kept doing that, you know, and trying to give back to the community. And so, like I said, when I see these kids now, sometimes you know they might not have like that opportunity that they're looking for.
Speaker 2:You know there's so much sports. There's so much you know other extracurricular activities, but you know where is the chess club? Where is it an entrepreneurship club for kids? You know a lot of it. So you know, those are the things that I was kind of like into when I was a kid. So I just opened a center for that. So, yeah, man, it was kind of like into when I was a kid, so I just opened the center for that. So, yeah, man, it was kind of like 18 you got to do something with your life. You know, I had this god-given talent. You couldn't hear all my life, so I used it yeah, man, you're a true mentor through and through.
Speaker 1:um, that's great that. Uh, you got to be able to emulate that. I mean, I think that's great, man. You're helping the ones that need it most. You know Now, speaking to you, jolie, I know, as a union steward, you get the work there, you're getting it done Someone who is deeply involved in the community. What drew you to Mainline's program and why did you decide to introduce us?
Speaker 3:Well, it was a Labor Day weekend one weekend. I just happened to be in town and this is my neighborhood, first of all, so that was a big motivation too. So I was in my neighborhood riding around and I seen a line outside of his barbershop. He was fairly new to the community and I just left my community from delivering in this area and relocated to downtown to an easier area. So this is my neighborhood. I drove UPS in this neighborhood for eight years, so I seen a line outside and I was just curious.
Speaker 3:And the next day I talked to the guy next door which we were good friends to and which is, you know, his landlord, and he said that guy's over there giving free haircut, free food and everything and backpacks for the kids out of his own pocket. I said, wow, you know. And he had a line around the corner and I was just so amazed and I went over and I he introduced us and I told him I was like man, please, next year, let me be a part of that, because I want to be there, I want to be included, because this is my neighborhood and they just inspired me. So I just jumped in every year and you know when he was telling me about this idea, I got more inspired and I just wanted to be a part of it, and he's been gracious to let me be a part of it and so I just, wherever I'm needed and whatever I can do for him to keep things positive and to see the looks on these kids' faces and to watch them grow into.
Speaker 3:This program has been amazing the last four years, so it's been really amazing ride stuff. So we we're really just getting it off the ground and now we're starting to get, hopefully we're getting noticed and trying to really open eyes to people and, uh, help support our, what we got going on here and and and come and support some of the outings that we do, our food truck that we do, and just we're just trying to get this thing really going for the kids. It's all for the kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, spread the word. I like that you know too. Also, I'm glad you guys came on the show. You know it's. It's also you know a lot of people. We're riding around truck drivers, we drive around a lot. We can listen to it. So hearing you guys' story is going to be uh monumental for uh, inspiring others. So really thank you for doing that. I heard you put the shout out there at the union hall so that was cool man, yeah, so he's like hey, make sure you guys check out that care 11. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yeah, good job.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, um, I guess the mission with the barbershop program. I call it the barbershop program, but I was looking online. It looks like this this is our neighborhood. That's the name of your um, non-profit um. You can go online and check that out. It's ourneighborhoodcom, a really nice website showcasing you guys there. Let's dive into the program. Can you tell us a little more about what the Barbershop helps teens develop in the skills? As far as what business skills, entrepreneurship, what specific skills do the teens develop and that you help them work with?
Speaker 2:We use a couple of different resources. We have a small business kids business plan that we let them do before they go to. What we do is, after every, every session, which is like 14 weeks, we do a business fair and that's kind of like the graduation of it all you know for that session. So we teach them how to develop a business idea, we teach them how to put that idea into a business plan and then at the end, then at the end, they take that business and they compete with like 15 to 20 other businesses at the Rosedale Mall all their youth businesses. But they compete for prizes like $400 down to $50, trophies, medals, bikes, prizes, toys and stuff like that. And they get to keep their all their their uh money that they earn for that day. And so we we host that at the end and, um, so they get the, the full package of it. They get to learn the curriculum while they hear a bit of it, and it's not, it's, it's college material, but we don't teach it like college material. We teach it in in the form of games and uh competitions so that they're interested in competing with each other to learn this stuff, and repetition is the main thing that we really use. So a lot of the stuff that we cover will be some of the stuff that we cover over and over and over and over and over again. But they, after the repetition, they learned it like business terminology uh, they, uh, we also do uh multimedia to teach them how to use adobe software and adobe premiere and they make videos and for our business they make promotional videos and help out with the marketing of ION, of the barbershop and other businesses in the neighborhood if they want us to do work for them. But we use that to help them to learn about the marketing aspect, multimedia marketing. We also have a day where they learn how to code their own website. So they're doing all of these things in this 14-week course 14 to 16-week course. So by the time they get done, by the time they get to the business fair, they should know how to do some multimedia marketing for their business. They should have created a business idea and put it into a small business plan. Also, they should have a complete website finished for their business and then they'll be ready to compete in the business fair at the end.
Speaker 2:And we do about three business fairs each year, so maybe sometimes four, but yeah.
Speaker 2:So we also have a chess club where we teach them how to play chess on Fridays, where we teach them how to play chess on Fridays and we teach tournament chess and we take them to a state chess tournament at least once a year. We also have a food trailer that the kids help draft the business plan for. About two years ago plan for about two sessions well, no, about two years ago. One of their sessions was primarily to draft the business plan for the food trailer, which is a much more complex business plan. They helped with that and then the summer session, they came back and was able to work on the food trailer that they helped draft the business plan for, and so we let them run that trailer themselves pretty much after we trained them, and it gives them the experience of having the responsibility of running their own business business so that, along with field trips and a number of other mentor agents that we use just to help them to be successful in whatever area or career pathway that they choose, where they're going to Wow, that is robust.
Speaker 2:That's amazing.
Speaker 1:Wow. Man, I gotta take a minute on that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right.
Speaker 1:How did you guys come up with that curriculum Like, uh, just kept adding to it and add to it, or so the curriculum we use is um, from ec league, it's called um.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's one curriculum we use. And then we use uh, biz kids is a portion of another curriculum we use and then, um, some college material that I use from when I was taking business courses in Indiana University. I included some of that and we started out using PowerPoint presentations and things like that. I got away from that. I took the PowerPoint presentations and put them into game formats like puzzles and different things where they can compete with each other At the end of doing the things where they can compete with at the end of doing this stuff. They can compete and um, win money, like I let them win. Um, like tomorrow we'll do uh play a game, yeah, like jeopardy business, jeopardy, different games. We play with them and whoever win get like 20 bucks, you know. And so we do this stuff over and over before we start jumping into writing the business plan for their business fair, and that way when we're they'll know what we're talking about when we start developing and drafting their own business plan yeah, man, business plan is, uh, is a key.
Speaker 1:Um, not. Not everybody can write a business plan. A lot of people to go to school learn to write a business plan can't write a business plan. Right. That's awesome, man. I congratulate you guys. That's a huge feat. You guys are just knocking it down like there's nothing there, mm-hmm. Yeah, man, I'm hopeful for a lot of the young ones that take part in the in there. It's good, man, man. So you know, I'm hopeful for a lot of the young ones that take part in the program. I think that's going to be huge for them. They already look like shining stars right there when I saw them on TV. Man, that's really cool. Bro, thank you so much for putting forth that effort. That program sounds really good. So Milan the barbershop is based in St Paul, a city that owns unique challenges and strengths. Why is it important that you focus on the efforts in this community? You know what made you help out St Paul.
Speaker 2:Well, I think well, because one of my barbershop is located there. I live out this way. So this is my neighborhood now since I moved here. I moved here about 10 years ago and so, yeah, it is a underprivileged area. A underprivileged area, systemic barriers has been in this area for some time and I come from a neighborhood that has had those same issues. But I see that you know, I focus on entrepreneurship and teaching it to youth because I want them to see and envision their own communities and rebuilding their own communities that they have, and not just get it to the point of a successful point and then running away to the suburbs or whatnot, even though if that's what you choose to do, that's cool. But at least come back and try to, you know, put something back into where you're from. And you know, like I said me being from Gary, indiana, I'm in this.
Speaker 2:This neighborhood is, it's not as rough as Gary, but it has its characteristics of, you know, poverty-driven area. Drugs, crime and all these things affect our youth and they need to know that there's people out here and safe places for them to go to, and it doesn't just have to be. I mean, the library might be safe to a lot of kids, but it might not be safe to some of the kids that I help. So it's not just one place. We need different places around our neighborhoods to pitch in and help out and you'd be surprised how many kids can be. Their lives can be changed and saved as we work as a group and as a whole. So those are, and I see these kids and they remind me of myself when I was a kid. So you know, I just automatically just want to help, you know.
Speaker 1:I can feel the passion right there, man, that's great. You know you can identify with the neighborhood, you know you're, you know you, you, you see different layers. Some people see different things elsewhere, but you're seeing different layers right there in St Paul of how you can help. I mean, just that fact you're thinking about the library may not be ideal for certain young ones. Oh, let's give them something else. Let's not just push one thing. You know that's good, man, that's a lot of good work and it has to start somewhere. So, yeah, that's, that's, that's great. Thanks for speaking on that one, um. So yeah, your personality, real, comes through and your person and who you are, you know, being a mentor, um, did you have someone that you can think of that helped you along the way?
Speaker 2:Yeah, my godmother helped me, my uncle helped me it was people that helped. I had neighbors that helped out, but it wasn't an organization that really, like a non-profit organization that focused on what I wanted to do, didn't help me. So that's, that's kind of like why I wanted to. You know, I've always been doing this like mentoring and everything. Even in gary I've mentored at another organization called the gary Career Center. We helped create a barber course, barber program out there for them, and but it wasn't like this, like an organization that we put together to just focus on and concentrate on entrepreneurship for kids.
Speaker 2:I don't let adults like we have a lot of pop-up shops and they include kids and adults I don't do that. I let the kids have something for themselves. You know, we can do our thing later, but let them compete with one another. If they're on a level to compete with adults, then yeah, we can get them out there with the adults. But we let those kids come out there and that's their business, fair, you know, and they look forward to it. And even with the chess tournaments, you know, we got these little chess bags, we got these little chest bags. You see, like 300 kids with these bags on their shoulders, going into this gymnasium to compete for two days at a state chess tournament. You know I like things to just be singled out exclusively for kids and so, yeah, even though I had some people that were very significant in my life, they helped me get over the hurdles and the obstacles.
Speaker 1:And I think that's another reason why I wanted to take it to another level, another broader step. What's your vision for the future, maybe the next five years where you plan to expand, or anything like that? I know you got Jolie. He's working. He's working around the clock here. I can tell, ready to do more what?
Speaker 2:do you think? Um, so the the plan is to um either? Um get the other side of this building, cause it's a double building. My landlord is retiring, so we're trying to get the other side of this building, because it's a double building. My landlord is retiring, so we're trying to get the other side of the building and um expand our space, get more space and um put our programs uh upstairs instead of downstairs and get a storefront signage and also include a barber program where kids can, at the at the grade uh junior or senior grade level, can come and start working on their barber, like just while they're in high school yeah, wow, that'd be huge.
Speaker 1:I started cutting my hair, never back. I got a chance to help a couple people here and there They'd say come on, man, fade me up. Man, it's a good way to give back. You get a good feeling when you give someone a nice haircut. Man. They feel like they're on top of the cloud. Man, you see them just dance off with that haircut. That's what's up yeah. Yeah man.
Speaker 1:I mean you have to do it, especially with the free haircuts, man. That's when I heard that I was like, wow, that's that's, uh, that's where it's at, man. I hope you're able to keep that going and I hope that the expansion works well. I hope that the storefront, I mean. Keep you guys going, man, by rooting for you. I champion you guys a lot there. I hope we can continue the conversation and keep hearing more about good things. Let's see here what else we got. Is there any stories that stood out for you from some of the teenagers you were able to help, or young ones, any obstacles that the program has helped them overcome? Uh, maybe, uh, joel, you could speak on it.
Speaker 3:or yeah, yeah, I have a story which, which is really enlightened me and really fired me up. The young lady that was on the um that was on last night, the news her name was name was Tamika. She came to us. She was a shy 12-year-old girl and we couldn't hardly Melania hardly couldn't get her to talk, for nothing at all and you know, to be in front of cameras to talk to people in the business fair. While she started her business fair and everything, and throughout the program she was really engaged in the program. Each time I came down here she was engaged in every session of the program At 12 years old so 12, 13, 14, she was with us for four years.
Speaker 3:Those four years she became one of the chess tournament champions, she became one of the top entrepreneurs in our program and she did a one of the top uh, entrepreneur words in our program and, uh, she did a lot of interviews. She was, uh, on Channel 9 actually doing our business fair. So she was our, our spokesman, basically. So she came from out of this quiet person into excelling, into being really talkative and smiling and everything, and her thing was to go be a nurse and stuff. So now she's graduated our program and now she's taking the nurse's classes and she's in the nursing right now. She's been following her dream of what she wants to do and she thanks the program a lot.
Speaker 3:We miss her dearly. But she was our first project and I'm telling you she really stood out and I couldn't be more proud of her and it really really made me more excited just to see her develop and watching her still develop as she's left the program and keep going on. And that tells me, to myself and to him, yes, we are on the right track, yes, we are making a difference, we can keep this thing going. And so, yeah, that positive aspect of it every time I think of her name and I see her, I just all smile, because I remember when she was just 12 years old and how quiet she was and now she's very talkative. Matter of fact, the whole last summer she ran the food truck. She ran the food truck half the times by herself and she kept, you know, up with everything. And I mean, if you just see her in action, you'd just be, you know, appalled, you know. So it made us proud, it made us proud, it made us proud. We truly miss her, we do.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's awesome. That's a great story, a great success story Makes it all worth it, even if it's just one that makes everything worth it, it's just one.
Speaker 1:I'm sure you guys got many more to come. Keep on trucking it, more to come. So, yeah, keep on trucking it, so to speak, because we highlight truckers and drivers and people that drive the community. So I thought about you guys. I said, man, it'd be great to have you guys on the show. We, you know trucking brings everything. So I really think you guys are going in the right direction. I champion you guys. I think there's going to be a lot more good things ahead of you. I could just see it, man. You know you guys got the great energy that you're putting out there. So what advice would you give someone who's interested in starting maybe, a similar program somewhere else, maybe in another city, in the hometown, or maybe a young one that hears the program and lives right next to you? Come on by and give it a try. You want to get any words for them?
Speaker 2:Well, if they would like to open a similar organization, they should go for it. The more help, the better. We all in it for pretty much the same reason to help these kids, because we look at the generation that we have coming up now it's kind of rough and those are going to be our leaders in the field and controlling things, and so they need to be well equipped in every area and as much knowledge, as much skills and help that we can. You know we can give to them. You know, yeah, do it. And now if they need help or you got us, feel free to contact us. They can go to our website, it, wwwitsourneighborhoodcom. Email us and we'll be happy to help and be any kind of resource that we can.
Speaker 1:Thanks. What about the young ones that may hear about this in your neighborhood? Maybe they get shared or sent around on social media. What would you say to them?
Speaker 2:If they want to participate. Yeah, oh yeah, stop on by, talk to us. We're working hard to develop more programs out for, because we'd like to work with third to 10th graders. So we're trying to really develop our programs more so that the younger crowd can benefit from it, not just teenagers. So, yeah, stop by, check out our website, ask questions, not just teenagers. So, yeah, stop by, check out our website, ask questions about us. We're more than happy to inform you and have any kids that's interested.
Speaker 2:But I will say this I would like them to be interested in entrepreneurship because it's a program that is based around that and so if they're not really interested in it, then it might not work for them. So I wouldn't want to waste their time. Usually I ask them before I interview them if they ever wanted to own a business or be an entrepreneur and if they, if they say, yeah, it's something that they're interested in and yeah, this is the program for you and that's what you're going to learn here. It's how to be an entrepreneurship, even from just shadow myself and the other barbers this year. You know they are entrepreneurs, um, and they can see. You know exactly what it takes to. You know, be on time and tactful. How to you know just a lot of be professional around in a professional area. So yeah, if they want to be a part of the program, reach out to us. We're more than happy to help.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if shy ones can make it. You know people that have succeeded before, um have succeeded before. Uh, you may be a little hesitant, you know, maybe you got to talk to the parents and you know, get them involved. Uh, you get to hear about your story, your success story and how you guys have spread that love to your community, and so don't be afraid to come on down and take a visit and see what you guys got. I mean, that's uh, I think the energy is great Just just seeing that in the community. Um, I think it's going to be contagious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:We're hoping so For sure. Yeah, I'm already excited, man.
Speaker 3:We look forward to you stopping in and see us too.
Speaker 1:I'm coming, yeah, I am. So I'm going to go check it out and and, uh, also get, and also get this podcast out too, you know. So, yeah, just to kind of close it all up, I know you guys got things to do too. Thank you both for joining me on the show. I know it's a little untraditional with the Zoom, sometimes that could be a little awkward, but you guys tackled it like no problem man. So, yeah, so this is good, yeah, so yeah. Thank you both for joining me. Uh, milan, the work you're doing is truly inspiring, shows how mentorship and education can change lives. And Jolie, thank you so much for introducing us.
Speaker 1:I think your story is incredible as well. You're a hard worker, not just uh on the one job, your day job, but you also got the uh wonderful thing you're doing after work as well. I mean you're rushing right there taking care of business. So, for our listeners, I encourage you to check out Milan's recent feature on Care 11 News Land of 10,000 Stories. You can find that on Care 11's website. It shows the feature show there. I will put the link also with this podcast so that way you can easily find it. I think that was a great showcase as well. Um, so also you can share it to your friends. Um, just spread the word uh, because we need more positivity in the world so you can find these um avenues within your community and foster young ones to be successful in the future. So remember, helping kids is a success for all of us to help them succeed and most impactful things we can do for our future. So thank you for tuning in to that's Delivered. Until next time, take care.
