The recent impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) throughout the world and particularly the impact felt in New York City has prompted great concern over the past several weeks. Given the current situation here in New York, including the Governer's decision on Saturday to declare a State of Emergency throughout the state of New York, VEI has made the difficult decision to cancel the upcoming Youth Business Summit scheduled for April 21-23, 2020.

This decision was made after consultations with our national board of directors, program partners, and local municipal government officials in New York. It has become clear over the past several days that this was the necessary course of action in order to ensure the health, safety, and concerns of our students, teachers, and partners planning to attend.

While the physical gathering of 5,000 students from over 200 schools will not take place as previously planned, we are diligently making plans to engage schools and students in alternative ways. It is our hope that competitions, including the National Business Plan Competiton, will move forward albeit in a different format. We also hope to provide opportunities to engage in online conversations and trade with other students, schools, and partners.

We will be providing further details later this week on alternative experiences and competitions for students, schools, and partners as well as guidance on obtaining credit or refunds for booth fees and travel.  

It deeply saddens us to cancel the Youth Business Summit. This is the first time in our organization's 24 year history that we have had to make this decision. It is especially difficult knowing the hard work you and your students have put into making this event a success for your VE firm. We are committing ourselves to do all that we can to provide an alternative experience to highlight and showcase your students' work.

 

Sincerely,