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MALL PROGRAMS HELP PUT YOUTHS ON RIGHT TRACK

BY DONNA MITCHELL

Ivanhoe Cambridge’s Student Street Squad helped clean parks.

It was the images of Littleton, Colo., teen-agers fleeing their Columbine High School building in 1999 to escape gunmen that galvanized executives at King of Prussia, Pa.-based Kravco Co.

Disgusted that students could be terrorized and rendered helpless in an environment that is supposed to nurture them, Kravco officials decided that the least they could do was empower them in another important gathering place for youth — the shopping center. The development firm formed a partnership with Seeking Harmony in Neighborhoods Everyday, or SHiNE, a national program aimed at curbing youth violence by promoting diversity and respect.

Kravco is one of many malls in the United States and Canada reaching out to young people through education, social support and recreation.

“[Teen-agers] think that they, in a sense, have ownership of the mall,” said Brenda Lounsberry, SCMD, general manager of Kravco’s 1.3 million-square-foot Deptford (N.J.) Mall. So when Kravco went looking for a community outreach program, it was teen-agers it had in mind.

Many of the industry initiatives are designed to leave youngsters with lessons that last well after their most recent mall purchase has gone out of vogue. Nowadays, donating classroom and athletic equipment is just the start. Kravco’s SHiNE Network participants have organized a number of workshops promoting diversity and acceptance, and one group put on a multicultural festival at a local school. North of the U.S. border, Canadian mall landlords are funding university scholarships and nurturing young leaders.

Shopping centers have good reason to give youngsters a helping hand: they’re important customers. In 2002, consumers age 15 to 19 accounted for 8 percent of overall mall sales in the United States, says William S. Roop, president of Stillerman Jones & Co., an Indianapolis-based national marketing and consumer research company. Teen-agers also make up 13 percent of mall shoppers, 18 percent of specialty store customers and 16 percent of food service patrons.

School-related community programs are tremendous traffic generators for shopping centers, says Ann Ackerman, SCMD, vice president and director of marketing at Talisman Cos. The Coral Gables, Fla.-based firm provides redevelopment, renewed leasing and rebranding services for shopping centers. But the benefit goes the other way too. Schools, says Ackerman, “get to showcase to the public at large what education is doing today. It reassures the public that their tax dollars are being spent well.”

Seventeen-year-old Cherie Tong, of Richmond, British Columbia, would patronize the Metropolis at Metrotown and the Metrotown Centre, both in Burnaby, British Columbia, several times a month for the usual teen-age business of socializing and shopping.

But in May 2003 she picked up something they weren’t selling in the stores: goal-setting and strategic-planning skills that will probably last her a lifetime.

Tong was among 150 high school students who attended the inaugural Student Street Squad conference, a program that cultivates community leadership talent. Thanks to skills she learned at the conference and follow-up from the coordinators, the teen helped organize a local park cleanup and a health and fitness campaign.

“The idea was to be more proactive in the community,” said David Jang, community relations manager at Ivanhoe Cambridge, which owns Metropolis at Metrotown and Metrotown Centre. “We’re a big part of what happens [here].” (The firm is in the process of linking the two centers under the Metropolis at Metrotown name.)

When Tong arrived at the Metrotown complex for the two-day conference, she and nine classmates were plunged into an exciting, if unfamiliar, atmosphere.

“They did not know what was going on ... what was planned for them,” said Tong. It soon became clear what the Student Street Squad sponsors expected from their charges, however. The students broke up into groups to brainstorm ideas for community service projects.

Other sessions, called FunShops, allowed the students to learn drumming, juggling and go through leadership exercises. There is a practical application to all the noisemaking, Jang says.

“When the students apply their volunteer skills [through community projects], they don’t have the money to pay for performers, so the idea was to give them ‘fun skills,’ ” said Jang.

Like all conference delegates, the youngsters listened to keynote speakers. Rahim Fazal described how he made millions selling a tech company; Barbara Stegemann, a former journalist and currently CEO of public relations firm Acclimatize Communications, discussed fields of study and career planning.

Cadillac Fairview’s Spire program provided students at high schools near its North York-Willowdale center with checks towards post-secondary school education.

“Rahim’s success happened at our age, and [Stegemann] talked about the fields she studied before she got to where she is now,” said Tong. “That really helped us.”

But if the Student Street Squad program fosters leadership, the Spire Scholarship from Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview rewards it. Fairview Mall officials launched Spire in 2002, reaching out to the five high schools nearest the 881,035-square-foot regional center in North York-Willowdale, Ontario.

One winner from each school was awarded C$1,000 ($748) toward post-secondary-school education, after being evaluated on academic achievement, student leadership, peer tutoring and other criteria.

“It certainly isn’t getting cheaper to go to college or university,” said Anthony Facchini, general manager of Fairview Mall. “We thought the money would be well spent and there would be goodwill coming back to us.”

In its first year Spire handed out C$5,000 in scholarships and followed that last year with C$50,000 from 15 participating properties.

Cadillac Fairview might not see an immediate sales windfall from the teens themselves, but Spire creates loyalty among their parents, who do have the money to spend now. And the developer can look forward to rewards after the students complete university or other post-high-school studies.

“We are grooming our next best customer,” said Wendy Greenwood, SCMD, director of marketing for Cadillac Fairview’s Ontario portfolio. But it is as much about promoting business as it is about being a good citizen, participants say.

Ivanhoe Cambridge got the backing of the British Columbia Principals & Vice Principals Association for its Student Street Squad program. Similarly, Cadillac Fairview got Toronto’s school district to endorse its program.

“They are going to the schools for us, saying, ‘This is a worthwhile program,’ ” said Facchini.

Retailers and landlords target younger children too. In Bay Harbor Island, Fla., downtown shopkeepers are marketing themselves cooperatively under the Bay Harbor Development Association, and they get a lot of help from the moppets at Ruth K. Broad Elementary School.

Over the past several years, the children have decorated Valentine’s Day hearts to display in the retailer’s windows and roamed the area singing Christmas and Hanukkah songs. In return, some of the businesses decide to help support a school financially by sponsoring a class.

Some of the retailers reap benefits from the promotional events. Take children’s apparel retailer Le Petit Choux, for instance. The store opened in November 2003. Thanks to the exposure brought by the carolers, it got a better start than expected, says Tania Levy, the owner. Levy says she will return the favor by sponsoring a class.

“I got a chance to see the children and mingle with them,” said Levy. “There was that special contact that is necessary for a business or any other relationship.”

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