Social Enterprise Catalyst

03/14/2022

Founder of Ottawa-based World-Changing Kids (WCK), Lindsey Barr, is encouraging parents to talk to their kids about the information they are seeing on social media and through the news of the conflict in Ukraine. She said parents should try to start conversations about Russia's invasion on Ukraine by asking their children what they've heard or seen.

Read more about how to chat with kids about the conflict in this CityNews Ottawa article by Chris Stoodley:

Lindsey Barr says her own children — who are 14 and 11 — are afraid of the situations they're seeing in the news and on social media, especially regarding the potential of a Third World War.

03/09/2022

Last Saturday, the Strides to End Homelessness walk returned to Kelowna with its 11th annual event.

The event brought in $54,060, surpassing this year's goal of raising $50,000 to support people experiencing homelessness and poverty in the Okanagan Valley.

Learn more and view photos of the event:
https://secure.e2rm.com/p2p/event/353256/en-CA

Read an article from before the event: https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-361882-1-.htm

The annual Strides to End Homelessness walk is back, in person, after a two-year hiatus.

03/08/2022

This based in is supporting mothers who are dealing with rising living costs through a financial support network.

Read more in this London Evening Standard article:

With household bills surging, the initiative’s founder said: ‘We’re pushing this programme because mum’s are really struggling out there’

03/07/2022

A Vancouver-based social enterprise, Potluck Cafe Society, has opened its doors to a new, larger location after more than 20 years of service to the ! The social enterprise provides employment for those facing barriers to traditional employment, and expanding their space means the organization can diversify and double new hires and trainees.

The new space is designed by Perkins&Will.

Learn more:

The Potluck Café Society has opened its doors at a new location in Vancouver, taking on a much larger space to adapt to its expanded role as a social enterprise caterer—and marking a legacy of more than 20 years of service to the Downtown Eastside. The brand-new premises at 298 East Hastings St, ...

03/04/2022

Social enterprise, Glesga Roasters, is aiming to help prisoners through rehabilitation, mentoring, employability and building community. The coffee roaster produces high-quality, local artisan, roasted coffee and trades directly with coffee cooperatives in Rwanda.

The social enterprise was founded in 2020 by James Faddes, pastor of Bishopbriggs Community Church on the outskirts of Glasgow.

Read more:

Coffee is proving to be the saviour of inmates as the street skills they used in the drugs trade are redirected away from the dark side and into a stronger brew.

03/03/2022

"Simply named ‘Local,’ the volunteer-run store is a social enterprise of Wildsight Elk Valley, a non-profit committed to food sustainability. The Fernie market makes it easy for area producers to sell their goods to customers, who are eating it up."

Read more at:

Local by name and experience

03/02/2022

A new grocery store in — to be run out of a former liquor store near a year-round homeless shelter with wraparound services — will provide employment opportunities to youth experiencing or at risk of .

https://sigtrib.com/former-liquor-store-will-become-social-enterprise-grocery-store-for-youth-at-risk-of-homelessness/

Photo from article courtesy of Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune

03/01/2022

The Tea Girls have opened a business out of Hope Blooms, a youth-run social enterprise that engages youth in the North End of about education, social inclusion and disrupting the cycle of poverty.

“A lot of people see us as just cute little children but when you change the way you look at us, you see very social entrepreneurs working very hard to make kids’ dreams come true and build the community and the world to be a better place for us to grow up in,” said Akiyrah Stevenson, one of the Tea Girls.

Read the inspiring story:

A group of girls aged 11 and 12 are selling tea to raise money for a youth music studio in North End Halifax.

02/28/2022

Social enterprises like Community Wood Recycling, a UK-wide social enterprise network, are stepping up and making changes to their business models to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Addressing both environmental and social issues, Community Wood Recycling collects and reuses waste wood whilst also creating jobs and training opportunities.

Learn more about the social enterprise network in this Social Enterprise UK article by Shehan Perera:

Find out how Community Wood Recycling looks to take on the climate crisis whilst creating jobs and training opportunities for people marginalised in the labour market in this Social Enterprise Story.

02/25/2022

This new coffee cart in Calgary, Kin Coffee Cart and Market, is working to increase food security by offering a pay-what-you-can model for beverage and produce sales.

The concept was created by Leftovers Foundation and staffed entirely by volunteers in two YMCA locations: the market rotates between the and locations, while the coffee cart operates out of Shawnessy YMCA.

Kin Coffee Cart and Market has local partnerships with YYC Food Security Fund and Motherlode Coffee (who has an all-female coffee roasting team)!

Located in the atrium at Shawnessy YMCA, Kin Coffee Cart is open Monday to Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Serving coffee from Motherlode Coffee, tea, baked goods like Ritual Doughnuts and fruit.

Read more in this Avenue Magazine — Calgary article by Chris Landry at

Kin Coffee Cart and Market is tackling food insecurity by offering drinks, produce and other groceries on a pay-what-you-want model.

02/24/2022

Time flies when you're forging new pathways to social enterprise! Today marks the final session of our 5-month, 8-module journey through the Business Legacies Incubator; a program developed to help non-profit and charitable organizations become acquisition ready. With the help of an exceptional roster of guest presenters, we've covered everything from mission alignment to finding a business match, from risk analysis to legal structures, and from business valuations to financing framework. Today, Kristi Fairholm Mader of Scale Collaborative, will bring us full circle with our final session, Transition to Social Enterprise. We'll be sharing more insights from the Business Legacies Incubator in the coming weeks. In the meantime, a hearty congratulations to our participating organizations for their dedicated work!

02/23/2022

In honour of her friend Juan Carlos, Brittney Valles created the Juan Carlos Cantoni Foundation alongside the taco stand Gogo’s Tacos. Based in , the foundation aims to support people between 18 and 28 years old in whatever they need to get a leg up.

Valles hopes that Gogo’s Tacos will make just a few more people feel supported in this world.

Read more about the social enterprise:

Gogo's Tacos exists to fund a foundation