(NEW YORK, NY- August 21, 2014) Harlem teen and rising entrepreneur Chase Reed has had an amazing summer vacation learning how to turn his love for sneakers into a bourgeoning business. Today, his hard work will be acknowledged as the recipient of the Black Wall Street Award taking place in Harlem from 6pm to 8pm at the Harlem Shake restaurant, 100 W. 124th Street. The Black Wall Street SERIES was founded by Sisters4Sisters Network, Inc. and http://www.bmorenews.com in Washington, D.C. in 2011. The events celebrate black entrepreneurs and professionals as well as the people who support them regardless of race. Chase will also be honored with Harlem residents Stanley Fritz, ShaChena Gibbs, Precious LaTonia Williams, and Clarence “KD” McNair among others.

Starting as a lesson in responsibility by his father Troy Reed, Chase literally pawned his sneakers to his dad for extra money to do things like go shopping, hanging out with friends and going to the movies. With a personal collection of sneakers worth over $30K, Chase figured that this concept could be applied on a bigger scale for kids (and even adults) as they may not have cars or jewelry to trade quickly. So with the support of his parents and selling his own sneaker collection, they started Sneaker Pawn, the first sneaker pawnshop in the world.

“It’s an honor to be acknowledged by my community in such great company,” states Chase Reed. “A year ago I could never have imagined that I would have turned my sneaker collection into a business. I started customizing my sneakers and my lacrosse gear and that spawned a whole new future for me.”

Since the opening of the store, Chase has been featured in media outlets like CBS This Morning, New York Post, Bloomberg TV, Fox Business and more. He has received overwhelming support and is gearing up to start his junior year in high school.