Missed this week's Summer Impact? Here’s a recap! 

Week 2 was all about sparking change. This means identifying and finding problems that you are passionate about and using that passion as your entrepreneurial direction for your venture. Kelly Lovell, CEO of BridingTheGap Ventures, spoke about choosing your own path and adventure and being able to self-reflect on what problems you are connected to to build not your elevator pitch but your “passion pitch”! In order to identify problems, Kelly introduced the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to discover which impact ecosystem you may belong to!

Workshops took place with different people and organizations to discuss and discover different social issues that you may be interested in. First batch of workshops covered social issues that will help you identify what problems you are curious and passionate about, including Gender Equality, Conscious Consumerism, Neurodiversity, and Activism. The second round of workshops covered personal and professional development. 

Discovering Social Issues Workshops

Developing Personally and Professionally Workshops 

What a great week 2 of Summer of Impact! We can’t wait to see you for Week 3 - Spark Ideas and Generate Radical Ideas! Want to join us live? Click here to register if you haven’t already!

Who joined us this week? 

Kelly Lovell

Kelly Lovell, CEO BridgingTheGap Ventures and Founding Global Chair, YOUNGA Forum

Kelly is a 19-time award-winning young entrepreneur passionate about bridging opportunity gaps to prepare young people for the future of work and solve global challenges. She’s a 3-time TEDx speaker, a Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leader and Queen's Young Leader—a prestigious honour bestowed by Her Majesty QEII that recognizes exceptional young leaders under 30 creating a legacy of impact.

“It’s less about what you’re doing and more about what you stand for and why you’re doing it” - Kelly Lovell

Sophia Yang 

Sophia Yang, Founder & Executive Director of Threading Change, a youth-led ethical fashion organization working at the intersections of climate, gender, and racial justice in alignment with the necessary transition to a circular economy. Originally born in China but raised in Calgary, Alberta, Sophia draws on her multitude of diverse work and volunteer experiences as the drivers for her holistic approach and perspective on the protection of our environment. As a dedicated climate justice changemaker, Sophia has worked for over a dozen environmental organizations ranging from federal government agencies (Parks Canada, Natural Resources Canada), NGOs (Nature Conservancy of Canada, SPEC, Parkbus, CityHive), industry (CNRL), and academia (UBC, SFU).

Viability Team

Eliana, Co-founder and Chair of Viability is a third-year student at the University of Toronto with a background in Peace, Conflict & Justice, Psychology and Linguistics. She is passionate about neurodiversity, mental health, and accessibility. As a co-founder and the current Chair of Viability, Eliana hopes to empower neurodivergent youth and work with them and community stakeholders to co-create brighter and more just futures. Eliana is also currently working on two additional projects: one which focuses on accessibility and student rights, and another which centres around neurodiversity and employment. Eliana brings her lived experience with neurodiversity and disability when advocating for systems change and ultimately hopes to create more spaces where neurodivergent youth can live as their authentic selves and thrive. Outside of work and school, Eliana likes travelling, hiking, art, plants, and cooking (or at least is trying to - don't be afraid to reach out and share your favourite recipes with her!)

Vale Patterson, program facilitator at Viability is a third-year premedical student at the University of Toronto double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. He uses his experiences with autism, CPTSD, and dissociation as well as his art background to do educational content creation, webinars, graphic design, and program facilitation for Viability. He is an advocate for the autonomy and mental health of neurodivergent people and is passionate about the neurodivergency paradigm and biopsychosocial models being more incorporated into the health field. In addition to this, he also likes drawing, reading, cooking, and translating

Annanya Jain, UX Team at Viability is a 3rd-year student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sexuality, Marriage and Family studies. She is a strong mental advocate in her community and draws upon her experience with ADHD, G.A.D and panic disorder. At Viability, Annanya helps members secure employment, co-leads social programming and is part of the UX team for Viability's upcoming exciting project. In her free time, you would probably find her watching anime, playing video games and writing poetry. Annanya loves continuous learning so if you want to see what you can learn from each other, she's always open for a conversation.

 

Ravina C Anand

Ravina C Anand, COO of FLIK is a social-tech entrepreneur and the COO of FLIK, a female-identifying mentorship portal. In a hyper globalized world, Ravina aims to advance women’s economic participation and help women from remote and underserved communities. With experience in municipal politics and community advocacy, she promotes diversity by encouraging people to fight injustices and challenge stereotypes. On a global level, Ravina advocates for women and creates conversations around the trends and procurement for scaling social innovation situated in inclusivity, diversity, and equity. 

Harjas Grewal

Harjas Grewal, founder of United Women, a platform to connect and empower BIPOC youth. She is also the Global Social Impact & Activism Associate Manager at DECIEM | The Abnormal Beauty Company. Harjas is an activist whose career has taken her to the United Nations General Assembly, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and more to advocate for real change. Her expertise is social impact, activism, and human rights.

Mylene Tu 

Mylene Tu, Founder of Lumaki Labs, is a social impact-driven student entrepreneur studying Management Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Currently, she is the CEO of Lumaki Labs- an EdTech startup on a mission to fill the gaps of education through impactful internships. Prior to Lumaki Labs, she ran an organization geared towards empowering young women in STEM and has been recognized as a Woman of Inspiration by the Universal Women's Network. Outside of school and work, Mylene enjoys running, painting for her Etsy shop, and playing the ukulele. 

Grant Me Team 

Leyton Vergeire, Student Account Manager and Lead Mentor at GrantMe.In high school, Leyton knew he wanted to be a healthcare worker; but this desire was too vague for him to identify his exact passion. While Leyton adores the technical side of healthcare, he also knew he wanted to be more invested with his future patients and their families. Leyton discovered a sub-discipline of oncology called radiation therapy that blends both aspects of healthcare, and knew this was the perfect fit for him. Leyton currently attends the University of Alberta, Honors Physiology, for Pre-Radiation Therapy. As Leyton is passionate about helping students navigate their post-secondary journey, he is also a lead mentor and Student Account Manager at GrantMe!

Madeleine Golubev, Head of Community at GrantMe works with organizations and schools across Canada to set up workshops/events that help students navigate the post-secondary process. As well, she leads GrantMe's Mentorship/Ambassador programs and develops curriculum workshops for GrantMe students. Madeleine is passionate about helping students reach their goals and feel empowered about their futures!

Graydon Lawson

Graydon Lawson, Founder of Reduce Waste Now, a social enterprise that provides sustainable alternatives to everyday products. Graydon’s easy and actionable ways to reduce waste have led him to be featured on Subaru’s Drive Magazine, and to speak at Marvell Semiconductor’s annual Go Green Expo. He’s currently attending the University of Victoria pursuing a degree in economics.

Social Reset Team 

Jake Bradshaw, Co-founder of Social Reset is a recent graduate of Queen's University where he studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics. Ever since his own struggle with depression and anxiety he has been passionate about mental health advocacy. Jake has advocated for mental health through public speaking, writing and community organizing alongside a variety of organizations. Recently Jake co-founded The Social Reset, an organization that is working to address the mental health crisis by helping young Canadians cultivate healthy relationships with social media. 

Joey Florence, Education Director at Social Reset, graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelors of Arts with a specification in Psychology and Sociology and is on a mission to teach students how to cultivate healthy relationships with social media. Joey’s previous research has focused on the effects of social influencers on behaviours (such as eco-friendliness), and has now shifted to incorporate social media’s influence on mental health - as he is passionate about healthy living and experiencing life for today!

Get Connected on Facebook

The League of Innovators’s Youth Entrepreneurship Community allows you to connect with others, network, and be involved with a supportive community!

We'll share resources all week on Facebook and reminders for our Innovation Challenge - submissions are due August 5!

How to join:

Answer the questions that appear in order for us to approve your request:

  • Enter Eventbrite confirmation OR e-mail used to sign up 
  • Confirm you are between the age of 14-25

Mentorship Session

Live sessions with fellow peers and learn straight from entrepreneurs to support your journey. You can expect all the mentors to share their experiences and knowledge with you as well as expand on specific topics or challenges that you may encounter. 

Click here to join the Mentorship hour! 

Don’t forget to check out the mentorship guide here! 

Thanks for joining us this week! See you next week!

Published by LOI Team in Boost Residency, Events & Workshops, Foundations Incubator, How to Startup, Innovators Academy, Labs Accelerator, Media, Startup 101, Youth Entrepreneurship News