The hosts who are mentoring the Students for Social Impact students are a diverse group of award-winning and life-changing social enterprises from across Canada and the UK. Click on the links below to find out more.
2015 Hosts
Centre for Social Innovation & Impact Investing
Sauder S3i is a Sauder School of Business research centre focused on leveraging business tools to advance social innovation and sustainability, through research, incubation, and application. The core research themes are building the low carbon economy, social innovation, and economic development with First Nations.
Commonwealth of Learning (Lifelong Learning for Farmers)
COL, a British Columbia-headquartered intergovernmental organisation, is dedicated to encouraging the development and sharing of open learning and distance education resources and technologies. COL helps developing nations improve access to quality education and training.
Embers
Embers is a Vancouver charity focused on community economic development. EMBERS works to combat poverty and assists in the revitalisation of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, through social enterprise and community-based business development.
Emmaus
Overcoming homelessness often means more than a roof over your head. That’s why Emmaus supports people in the UK to work their way out of homelessness, providing meaningful work as well a stable home for as long as someone needs it.
Eyecheck Solutions
A quarter of children cannot see the chalkboards in their classrooms. Millions of people across the developing world cannot live normal, productive lives because they need glasses. EyeCheck Solutions is a Waterloo-based social enterprise which aims to combat the global vision deficit by providing low cost vision care to millions of underserved individuals through improved technology.
First Ark
First Ark is a Liverpool-based social impact business providing affordable homes for rent and sale with a range of financial solutions which make buying a home more accessible. First Ark also operates a Facilities Management and Refurbishment social enterprise and an investment charity.
FRC Group
FRC Group changes the lives of people living in poverty and unemployment across the UK. They collect and recycle good quality furniture and appliances, making 'pre-loved' furniture available for social housing, low-income households and people in crisis need.
Icecream Architecture (This for That)
This for That is an online social exchange platform that supports engagement and participation among organisations, communities and individuals through a task and reward barter system. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, it supports increased connections to excess resources and better collaborative working.
JUMP Math
JUMP Math is a Toronto-based charity and numeracy program. JUMP enhances potential by encouraging an understanding and love of math in students and educators; all students can learn math, all teachers can teach math, and everyone can love it – it is what JUMP calls “the ethos of ability”.
Kelvin Valley Honey
Kelvin Valley Honey aims to reverse the decline in Scotland’s bee population while improving the lives of isolated people. Its work has helped increase the bee population by almost 30 million, and provided 100 marginalised people with an income, training and employment.
London Early Years Foundation
LEYF is the UK’s largest social sector childcare provider, providing high quality subsidised or free childcare to 3,000 children. Together with families and communities we enable each child to be the best they can be thorough wonderful experiences that enrich and extend their learning.
Monwel
Monwel produces signs and provides real employment to people with disabilities and those furthest from the work force. It currently employs 32 full-time people from the local community in the Welsh Valleys, 96% of whom manage some form of disability.
NOW Group
Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, NOW Group supports people with barriers to employment and learning who are often furthest removed from the labour market. Their work is about social inclusion and leads to people having better health and wellbeing, a better education and a brighter future.
PM Training
PM Training is a social enterprise operating across the North of England that provides new work opportunities to 16-18 year olds through range of training and support services. It is the largest provider of apprenticeships for 16-18 year olds in the UK, with 75% of those who complete training securing jobs.
Pond-Deshpande Centre
The PDC acts as a catalyst to spread the entrepreneurial mindset among youth and to lead deep change in the region through the development and growth of a thriving social entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is located at the University of New Brunswick in Canada.
Potluck Catering
Potluck Catering is an award winning social enterprise working to transform lives by creating jobs and providing healthy food for people living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Social Adventures
Social adVentures are a Salford-based wellbeing social enterprise helping people to lead healthier and happier lives. They deliver health care contracts and run a healthy living centre, a garden centre, community cafés, community gym and a children’s nursery.
SoJo
SoJo is a social enterprise based in Toronto with the mission of unleashing the potential of young people to improve the world through business. SoJo designs opportunities to engage youth in social entrepreneurship, running workshops, and developing learning supports for early stage entrepreneurs.
Startup Canada
Ottawa-based Startup Canada is a grassroots network of entrepreneurs working together to build an environment and culture for entrepreneurial growth and success in Canada. This work is accomplished through online platforms, grassroots Startup Communities and cross-sector initiatives.