We wanted to do something special for our members, both to recognize everyone for their hard work but also to celebrate the upcoming season. We certainly did that when Pam and Jock surprised us dressed as Santa and a X-mas tree. What a wonderful treat! Then the team felt the urge to dress up the SIFE President, Rowena Jordan, as a Christmas tree as well. It was a fun and relaxing event that helped reduce everyones stress as the school semester is coming to an end and exams are around the corner. We missed everyone who could not attend. Dont miss the next recognition event at the end of the year!

The team was given the opportunity to nominate members to receive a letter of recognition. The recipients were as follows:

• Jim McCartney – Freezer Project Manager
• Crystal Kuhlmann – LettuceFeedU Project Manager
• Kim Moore – FutureU Co-Project Manager
• Julia Herring – FutureU Co-Project Manager
• Ben Campbell – Foodbank Logistics Co-Project Manager
• Sheelagh Ryan – Foodbank Logistics Co-Project Manager
• Merina Johnston – Manage Your Money Project Manager
• Trevor Dufresne – Co-Chief of Marketing
• Kyle Geldart – Investment Club Project Manager
• Audrey Fortin – Lets Can Hunger Project Manager
• Carlye Oda – Chief of Human Resources

We want to CONGRATULATE EVERYONE for their hard work and dedication to the team. Without each and every one of you, we would not have the success that we have. We look forward to what next semester will bring!

In response to the Campbell’s, Let’s Can Hunger Challenge, Crystal Kuhlmann and her team of dedicated SIFE members at St. Lawrence College present the LettuceFeedU project. This initiative contributes rarely seen fresh produce to organizations assisting those in need.

The team did an excellent job this past growing season with 61 lbs of vegetables going to Martha’s Table that provides a hot meal program to those living on the streets. This year’s harvest was bountiful with such gems as peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, peas, brussel sprouts, chives, green beans, zucchini, and radishes all being grown to fruition.

The Let’s Can Hunger Challenge is a joint hunger relief initiative that addresses the issue of hunger and accentuates Campbell’s commitment to nourishing people’s lives. This program challenges SIFE teams to create projects that tackle the hunger problem with three goals: raising awareness about hunger relief, satisfying immediate hunger needs in local communities and implementing long-term solutions that help hunger victims address the cause behind their needs.

Martha’s Table provides low cost nutritious meals to those in need in an environment that encourages mutual respect, acceptance and understanding. Meals are served each weekday by volunteers in a restaurant-style setting for the nominal cost of one dollar. They also have a drop-in center or “Friendship Room” that is a relaxing and comfortable space where people come for rest, companionship and shelter. Coffee, snacks and sandwiches are available free of charge. If you would lke more information you can visit the Martha’s Table website or you can make a secure electronic donation through CanadaHelp.org.

Special thanks goes out to Crystal Kuhlmann, who served as the project lead; Adam Raycraft, and Carlye Oda who sewed the seeds that resulted in such a wonderful yield; and we can’t forget Rowena Jordan’s skilled use of her Green-Thumb and Nathan Putman’s technical expertise.

Have you ever gone hungry?  Do you know what it feels like to be malnourished from continued bouts of hunger? If you have ever been hungry, than you have experienced the gurgling, rumbling or growling of an empty stomach. But what if there is no food in prospect of eating? Next, you can expect dizziness, faintness, light-headedness, headache, or even black out. You may even constantly feel weak, cold, nauseous, or suffer from a lack of concentration.

Nearly 20,000 Kingstonian’s live below the poverty line. Of these individuals, 6,400 people used the local Partners in Mission Food Bank (PIMF) last year, of which 40% were children. Each year for the past three years, demand for Food Bank services has gone up by 10%. In 2010, it is estimated that 11,271 hampers worth $1,174,266 were distributed.

PIMF does a lot with a little but as the need increases and donations decrease, it becomes a struggle. We have created four separate initiatives to help PIMF increase efficiencies to feed hungry citizens in our community.

The most recent initiative, the one that prompted this dispatch and subsequent celebration, occurred in early October. After almost two years we have been successful in generating a secure, independent stream of income for the food bank. At this very moment, we are harvesting the enormous power of the sun through an array of 50 photovoltaic cells that were just installed on the PIMF roof.

Check out this video mosaic of the solar array install!

During the week PIMF will utilize the harvested power for normal operation, any excess power generated during this time and the accumulation of power generated on weekends when they are closed will be sold back into the grid. A successful application to the Ontario Power Authority’s MicroFit program means that excess power will be bought from PIMF at a guaranteed rate worth $10,000 of revenue per year for the next 20 years. That’s $200,000 of income over 20 years!

According to local meal providers, it costs approximately $2.50 to provide a warm meal to a member of our community, which means that the $10,000 per year can translate into over 80,000 warm meals over the next 20 years for the families in our community who need a hand in their time of need.

The value of the solar panels was $75,000 plus labor. Through the diligent work of the SIFE team we were able to negotiate a significant reduction in cost. The project-lead Steve Tripp secured labour for the instillation, which was donated by Downunder Solar and Electrical. Steve’s education in energy systems engineering at St. Lawrence College made him familiar with energy efficient technology and he saw this as an opportunity to help the local food bank put this technology to work.

The SIFE students didn’t actually do any of the installation work themselves, but acted as facilitators for the project, arranging contractors and handling the paperwork for any grants that were available; provided a cost-benefit analysis; arranged for discounts and donations from contractors; and secured sponsorship reducing the cost significantly.

Many people and organizations have made contributions that directly resulted in making the solar system project a reality.

Thanks-you

• A special thank-you goes out to Steve Tripp whose technical knowledge inspired the entire project
• James Krikorian: Former Sponsorship Team Member and current Chief Operations Officer
• Rowena Jordan: Former CFO and current President
• Board of Directors, Partners in Mission Food Bank: Contributing the outstanding funds required
• Sandy Singers, Food Bank Representative: Help to reach and achieve common goals
• James McCartney: Inspiration for working with the Food Bank
• Pam Bovey Armstrong: Encouraged an  nudged the process all the way through!

Donors

• Downunder Solar and Electrical
• Student Association of St. Lawrence College, Kingston
• The Lionʼs Club of Odessa and District
• Cathy and John Pirrie
• Students in Free Enterprise

This two-day event is a platform for the ideas and trends that are shaping the future of business; Influencers, experts, change agents, doers. The annual meetings for those who do business, create opportunities and drive change in the world. It is the leading international symposium for the executive community to debate the most pressing issues of the day.

SIFE at St. Lawrence College was the impetus for bringing the forum to Kingston and through their efforts they were able to secure exclusive Canadian rights. Let me explain how totally awesome this really is! This means that the only viewing in the whole of Canada was in Kingston. High-rolling executives and dignitaries from nearly 60 countries paid over $1,700 for the live event and it was made available here in Kingston for local business leaders, students, and entrepreneurs. With nearly 400 tickets sold this event did not disappoint and will continue to excite.

Check out what participants at the local event had to say in this testimonial montage!

This clearly was a worthwhile event and many thanks need to be shared. First and foremost, we would like to thank those who were in attendance, our speakers, and front-line volunteers. An event like this is a mammoth undertaking and there are certain individuals that were instrumental in making this event a success.

A video thank-you has been compiled for your viewing pleasure.

If you are unable to experience the video than SIFE, SLC School of Business, St. Lawrence College, Students, and the local Business Community all thank-you for an excellent job done! The following is a list of  these individuals:

• A special Thanks to Wahida Lakhani – ensuring the event was profitable and professional
• Rowena Jordan – Managed negotiations with WBF and Cineplex
• Trevor Dufresne  - Integrated Marketing Communications
• Carlye Oda – Human Resources Management & her team of volunteers
• Jim McCartney – helping with everything
• Kate Armstrong – Videographer
• Ian Gauthier – saving the day
• John Conrad – having our back
• Pam Bovey Armstrong – risk mitigation / enforcer:)
• Jock Pirrie – Support
• Julie Einarson – MC at the event and support/planning
• Liz Leal Conrad – Support/planning and eyes in NYC
• SLC Student Association
• Janine Foster / Alumni – Artez payment systems

We also have a plethora of sponsors that contributed in various capacities that we would like to thank and they are as follows:

• Empire Life Our Team Sponsor
• McCoy Bus Service And Tours
• The Kingston Chamber Of Commerce
• St. Lawrence College Professional Development
• HSM America
• Cineplex Odeon
• The Streaming Network
• The Student Association
• SLC Marketing Department

 Click HERE to view some “Facts and Figures” of the event!

The SLC Investment Fund consists of monetary funding granted to the club through the targeting of clients which is arranged and executed by the club’s executive body and liaisons. Under the supervision of club executives and liaisons, the members of the club are to adhere to specified objectives, policies, and strategies to invest the monetary funding within the capital markets, preferably the Toronto Stock Exchange. The purpose of this funding is to provide the Investment Club members with hands-on experience, with the guidance and expertise of Jock Pirrie. . The goal is to raise $20,000 but to start this project $10,000 was required.

With the persistence of Kyle and his team, he approached the SLC Student Association and requested $10,000 be donated to the project. AND, THEY SAID YES!

Thank you so much, SLC Student Association, for your generous donation.

Kyle and his team will continue to raise the additional funds but they are now off to a good start! In September, the IC members will begin their investing. Any proceeds raised will be rolled into a bursary program. Stay tuned for updates on this project!

Steve’s diligent work, intelligence and passion, lead to a successful application to the MicroFit program offered by the Ontario government. This meant that the food bank now had a government contract to produce energy and generate income- about $200,000 of income over 20 years!

To put that into perspective, consider that the average meal offered by a meal provider in our community costs $2.50. That translates into 80,000 potential meals over 20 years. Now that is impact!

But there was still one piece missing, the funding. With the help of our current sponsorship team James Krikorian and Kate Armstrong and with the guidance from former CFO and current President Rowena Jordan, outstanding sponsorship applications were made and all of the funding has now been secured.

This news has come right after one final successful presentation to the Partners in Mission Food Bank Board who have agreed to invest the remaining funds since our last update.

Special thank you’s to Sandy Singers of the food bank for working with our team to meet common goals. Thank you to James McCartney who was the inspiration for working with the food bank in the first place. Thank you to Keith Didychuk who has been responsible for completing many retrofits to the food bank which will help them saves thousands in energy bills. Thanks as well to Pam Bovey Armstrong who encouraged and nudged the process all the way through!

Note: The team currently has sponsorship proposals out to various companies and hopes to subsidize some of the Board’s investments with these funds.

The Engine of Entrepreneurship project has wrapped up a second successful year!

The Engine of Entrepreneurship project challenges high school students to run micro-businesses with mentorship from our SIFE team. This June will mark the second wrap of the successful program.

This past First Capital Day, the SIFE team gathered with city officials and students from Kingston Collegiate and Vocational High School (KCVI) to celebrate.

As a result of the student’s work, a cheque was presented to the city for the restoration of engine 1095 “The Spirit or Sir. John A. McDonald”- the original inspiration for the Engine of Entrepreneurship project. It is gratifying to see the restoration of the engine and to know that we have helped the efforts.

A special thank you goes out to Vance Grekul, business teacher at KCVI and mentor extraordinaire who has helped make this project the success it has been.

Project lead, Ian Gauthier, had this to say about Vance:

“Vance Grekul is an inspiration, the only thing I believe he enjoys more than business is the ability to teach it to his students. He loves teaching and it shows through his students and the people who know him.”

Another thank you to Ian Craig, founding sponsor and a great source of encouragement. As well as to former project leads James Krikorian and Gareth Green.

This project has encouraged the spirit of entrepreneurship, created leadership roles for students and helped the restoration of a Canadian landmark – what a success!