Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada » young social entrepreneur

Change.org – Is Toronto The Next Social Innovation Hub?

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:10:32 +0000

On Earth Hour eve, keynote re:Vision speaker Nathaniel Whittemore of Assetmap and Change.org, comments:

Today the first ever Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSEC) of Canada conference, re:Vision 2010, kicks off in Toronto, Ontario. With students, innovation centers, coworking spaces and an increasingly vibrant startup scene, Toronto is a place to watch.

So in response to Nathaniel’s question of whether Toronto is the next social innovation hub our answer is a resounding “YES!” Incidentally, this was echoed by the Center of Social Innovation on their facebook fan page yesterday.

Check out Nathaniel’s full blog post here: Change.org: Is Toronto The Next Social Innovation Hub?

A big thank you to Nathaniel for his great work and contribution in the area of social change, and for being a part of the immensely successful re:Vision 2010.

Eli Malinsky asks “what the hell” at YSEC re:Vision 2010!

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:37:34 +0000

Eli Malinksy – Programs and Partnerships Director, Center for Social Innovation, will be asking “social innovation: what the hell is it all about?” at re:Vision 2010 Conference on March 27-28.

Catch Eli at re:Vision 2010! Limited spots left so register now to avoid disappointment.

SE Spotlight – Ketan Deshpande

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:06 +0000

Ketan Deshpande, a third year engineering student at a city college in India, has become the youngest Indian to join the ranks of the Paragon 100 Fellowship awarded by the Hong Kong-based Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship (FYSE) this year. Ketan got the award for starting a voluntary organisation – Friends’ Union for Energising Lives (FUEL) which works towards creating awareness of entrance tests and centralised admission procedures to colleges for students. The organisation also runs a helpline and conducts workshops giving details of the exam dates, tips on filling forms, preparing for the tests and so on. (Read full article on The Punekar here)

As per the FUEL website:

The organization has been founded with the core principle of making a difference in the lives of many students across the country who need a definite and concrete support to plan their career.

To learn more about the Paragon 100 fellowship – Asia’s most inspiring entrepreneurs and social changemakers – click here.

YSEC are always on the lookout for young social entrepreneur projects (especially Canadian ones) to spotlight so if you know of any other great ideas or stories (and it could be your own) feel free to share them with us and we may post them on our blog!

SE Spotlight – Foodzie

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:55 +0000

What if you could take your local farmers’ market vendors online? Well Foodzie is doing just that.

Take small food producers that are gems of their local communities and give them an online presence, thus expanding their reach, market base and margin. It also allows these small-time folks to battle the bigger guys.

The bigger goal? To help change the way people eat.

Here’s the business model:

Local producers can set up a storefront for free and include information about themselves and the philosophy behind their food. Foodzie, the people providing the service, gets a 20 percent commission for every sale. The customers get access to the good food. It’s a win-win.

According to their website: We are an online marketplace where you can discover and buy food directly from small passionate food producers and growers.

Foodzie were recently profiled on Inc.com’s 30 Under 30.

SE Spotlight – Fertile Grounds Hallway Project

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:02:35 +0000

It’s always inspiring to hear about what other social entrepreneurs are doing, and to realize that we are not alone in dreaming big and taking action to make our local and global communities a better place for all.

As part of YSEC’s mission to promote social entrepreneurship and to provide case studies of people and organizations making things happen, this is the story of the Fertile Grounds Project.

The Fertile Grounds Project is a bold, not-for-profit educational organization that aims to provide youth with learning opportunities in unconventional and dynamic settings, to enhance their academic and social development, and provide them with the tools and space they need to build an identity in a world where they belong.

One fascinating program Fertile Grounds developed and is rolling out across the USA is “The Hallway” project. Take a look at this short seven minute video that outlines the project:

Hallway Project from Eyal Dimant on Vimeo.

For more info on Fertile Grounds and the Hallway project refer to www.fertilegrounds.org.

YSEC are always on the lookout for young social entrepreneur projects to spotlight so if you know of any other great ideas or stories (it could be your own) feel free to share them with us and we may post them on our blog!