(TORONTO) APRIL 8, 2020 – The Enactus team at St. Clair College has created a social initiative dedicated to improving the livelihood of international students by providing solutions to their social, financial and employment needs.
Students at the University of Ottawa are enabling local, community-led plastic recycling by manufacturing systems that allow people to shred and transform plastic waste into new and innovative products.
The Enactus team at Concordia University aspires to even out the current gender gap in computer science by offering free monthly coding classes to high school and college-level women through CodElle.
Enactus St. Clair College, Enactus University of Ottawa and Enactus Concordia University have been named the 2020 Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge Regional Champions. The winning teams were selected by Canada’s largest experiential learning platform, Enactus Canada, and program supporter Scotiabank.
“Our youth are facing unique challenges that can result in record-high debt and unemployment,” said Nicole Almond, President of Enactus Canada. “Thanks to this challenge and the work done by our Enactus students, we can help youth take greater control of their future.”
Enactus St. Clair’s InterACT project has impacted over 500 youth and has seen a 20% decrease in unemployment.
Enactus UOttawa’s Poly has impacted over 250 youth and has employed 10 youth with disabilities and four at-risk youth.
Concordia’s CodElle has impacted over 900 youth and has received sponsorship from the Montreal Planetarium.
“Congratulations to these teams for their inspiring work,” says Haijin Lee, Mississauga District Vice President at Scotiabank. “Scotiabank knows that how we support young people today can prepare them for tomorrow, and that’s why we are proud to play a role in empowering them to help other young people reach their infinite potential.”
The Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge encourages post-secondary students to develop and deliver projects that address the needs and opportunities facing youth. Focused on education, skill development and supporting the life-long success of youth aged 25 and under, this challenge has engaged 8,315 students since 2015, who have impacted more than 65,345 youth through 609 empowerment projects.
Student teams from central Canada presented the impact of their youth empowerment projects virtually to panels of business executives as part of the Enactus Canada Regional Competition.
Enactus St. Clair College, Enactus University of Ottawa and Enactus Concordia University will now move on to the national level of competition taking place in May 2020.
ABOUT ENACTUS CANADA: Enactus Canada, a national charity and the country’s largest post-secondary experiential learning platform, is shaping entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate about advancing the economic, social and environmental health of Canada. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, more than 3,400 post-secondary students led 267 community empowerment projects and business ventures last year in communities coast to coast, directly impacting over 50,000 lives.
As a global network of 37 countries, Enactus uses the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. For more information, visit enactus.ca.
ABOUT SCOTIABANK: Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: “for every future”, we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of approximately 100,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.2 trillion (as at January 31, 2020), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.
Media Inquiries:
Jennifer Falzon
Vice President, Programs & Marketing
Enactus Canada
jen@enactus.ca | 416.304.1566 x222 | 416.315.2099
Kate Simandl
Scotiabank
kate.simandl@scotiabank.com
416.866.6806