Monique later took to her twitter to recount the event saying it was “SO special. Teachers make many sacrifices to lay the foundation for our futures. They are often underpaid and under thanked.” She then encouraged her followers to “thank a teacher who made an impact on you! The joy you’ll bring (& receive) is immeasurable. God bless our teachers ”

For full details you can click here.

Following the Summit, Monique will be co-hosting the DenimMessaging VIP Concert. And for those of you who can’t make it there, it will be streamed live at JSYK.com

In her speech Monique had the following to say:

In 2010 it’s hard to believe that many parts of the world live on just a few dollars a day; that in America, the land of opportunity, the high-school drop-out rates are at an all time high. Or that in certain countries girls are being forced to become women far before they are ready. From global warming to human trafficking, earthquakes to corporate disaster, there is no shortage of world issues for us to be aware of. As future leaders it’s imperative that we open our eyes to our brothers and sisters all over the world and help solve problems down the street as well as across the sea.

Check out the pictures that Mo and her Marketing team/friend Jeff tweeted and the ones Jeff graciously emailed us this morning! Thanks again!!

Joining Monique on the cover are Tia Mowry, Lauren London, Naturi Naughton, Chyna Lane, Jennifer Freeman, Tiffany Hines, and Kyla Pratt. And there’s no doubt they are all looking fierce! Click the picture to check out the cover image full size. Also, you can watch two videos from behind the scenes of the photoshoot behind the cut. And last but not least, be sure to check out the Fearless Magazine website here.

According to her marketing team at Gloob Marketing she is head to the UN to participate in the International Youth Day! WOW, busy and exciting day for Monique!

You can click “Read More” for an article about the roundtable discussion!

What does a High School Musicalstar, an economist, and the owners of Georgetown Cupcake have in common? They were all witnesses at a Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship discussion on the obstacles facing young entrepreneurs and the growth of small business.

The hearing was chaired by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and included testimony by Monique Coleman of High School Musicaland founder of Gimme MO’, an online talk show for teenagers, Erica Williams, Deputy Director of Progress 2050 of the Center for American Progress; Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne, owners of Georgetown Cupcake; and Tim Kane, Senior Fellow of the Kaufman Foundation, among others.

The hearing was convened out of a concern for the low rates of entrepreneurship within the 20 to 30-year-old demographic. The witnesses examined why this may be the case and possible solutions. Several themes emerged from the testimony: lack of access to capital, high levels of student debt, credit issues, low levels of financial literacy among young business owners, and a lack of business education below the collegiate level.

The hearing highlighted mounting frustration about the lack of access to loans for those who want to start small businesses. Rachel Weeks, founder of School House, an ethical fashion company that provides collegiate apparel to universities, testified about the many obstacles to securing a loan for her company. This difficulty came in spite of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in purchase orders from universities she had secured.

Landrieu found it unacceptable that people with a clearly profitable business, like School House or Georgetown Cupcake, would be denied loans from banks. She went so far as to say that, “[the Senate] can make their [banks’] lives miserable” if they continue to deny loans to new small businesses.

Landrieu’s proposed solution is the Small Business Jobs and Credit Actof 2010, currently being presented for debate on the Senate floor with a similar version already passed in the House,that would send funding to small community banks to the sum of 30 billion dollars to help entrepreneurs access capital. a recent Kaufman Institute studyfound that net growth in jobs is spurred primarily through start-up firms in their first year. Given the importance of new businesses in stimulating economic growth, hopefully the Senate will follow the example of the House and pass this bill quickly.

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Both the book and the movie are slated for a release this November. You can check out http://tappingthesourcebook.com/ for more information.

As you all know, this is one of Monique’s favorite charities. She has teamed up with IHOP in support of their goal. If you go here and sign up for a wake up call reminder to go get your short stack from Monique herself!

Tell us, are you going to go get some free pancakes?