Raised amongst gangs, drugs, violence and other struggles associated with economically disadvantaged communities, Barnabas Shakur became empowered after the tragic life sentence of his 19 year old best friend. On his road to becoming a great social entrepreneur he has managed to become a multi-award winning social entrepreneur with awards including:
NYC Mayors Office and Snapple's "Best People in NYC" Award (March 2008)
Outstanding Commitment to Entrepreneurship - Emerging Business Leaders Summit (2007)
Union Square Awardee (2006)
National Social Entrepreneur of the Year - Oppenheimer Fund (2005)
Young Entrepreneur of the Year - National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) (2004)
Citizen's Committee and Fleet Bank - Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2003)
National Advanced Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition Winner 1st place - NFTE (2002)
National Student Entrepreneur of the Year and National Business Plan Competition Champion 1st place - US Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (2002)
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation did a case study on Mr. Shakur and nine other young entrepreneurs throughout America called Youth Engagement and Social Entrepreneurship: Case Studies of Deep Community Change by Toole, J.C. & Toole, P.H. (2004).
In 2003 Barnabas & PR-G was selected by the Partnership for After School Education (PASE) to be profiled in its Youth Connect Manual as a model for environmental stewardship towards Youth Led Community Service. The manual was nationally released in 2005.
