As is becoming increasingly apparent at a local and global scale, society is facing a number of ‘big problems’. Problems bigger than choosing Starbucks or Second Cup for your morning coffee and even bigger than meeting next quarter quotas.

In the Waterloo Region, there are numerous organizations and new ideas being dedicated to solving the bigger problems of our local and global community by using innovative approaches. At 5:30pm on March 4th at the Kitchener Children’s Museum, these change-makers will come together to share their social innovations and seek support from this community as they continue to work towards finding new ways to solve old problems.

The event is called SEE: Social Entrepreneurship Exchange. It is a unique networking event bringing social entrepreneurship to the forefront, showcasing the innovative organizations and individuals who are using the principles of entrepreneurship to support a social or environmental injustice. This event is not only designed to help us learn about the social innovations through informal discussions and a pitch competition ($300 for winners!), but also features a poker-chip style exchange, where all participants become philanthropic investors in social change by receiving two $10 poker chips and one two-hour volunteer chip on arrival (from your $30 event fee). By the end of the night, as you learn about Social Innovation, if you hear something you like, support them with your chips. After the event the new ideas, or innovative organizations can turn those chips into real dollars (and contact information from donated time chips!) to help grow and develop their innovations.

This event is hosted by Students Offering Support (www.studentsofferingsupport.ca), a local turned national student-led social venture headquartered here in Waterloo. The event is sponsored by Capacity Waterloo Region and Laurier’s Centre for Sustainable Organizations. SEE’s community partners include: Manulife Financial, Leadership Waterloo Region, Communitech, DreamNow, Lime Events, and the Kitchener Children’s Museum.

When: Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Start Time: 5:30PM
Location: Kitchener Children’s Museum, 10 King Street West, Kitchener, ON
Tickets: $30 - Register now

To learn more about the event (check out our event video), and to register / participate – go to www.SEEinnovation.ca.

If you have any questions, e-mail seeinnovation@studentsofferingsupport.ca.  You canalso follow them on Twitter (@SOSnational) or Facebook (Students Offering Support).

With more initiatives then ever before, Impact is excited to present our upcoming lineup for 2010.

1. Impact Innovate (March 6)
   Impact Innovate 2010 will be a one-day discussion about innovative thought and the entrepreneurial spirit. You will gain critical new skills, ponder provoking ideas and meet your future business partners. 
    
2. Impact Microcredit (Spring)
   Impact Microcredit is Canada’s biggest high-school social entrepreneurship competition, reaching students in hundreds of schools across Canada and raising tens of thousands of dollars to worthy charities.
    
3. Impact Apprentice (Summer)
   Impact Apprentice is a real-life, challenging, hands-on competition that will test the business smarts and wits of Canada’s top entrepreneurial-minded students.
    
4. Impact Expo (Fall)
   Taking place in University of Waterloo, the Impact Expo is a conference attracting over 2000 students featuring case study competitions, keynote speakers and more.
    
5. Impact National Conference (Fall)
   Recognized as Canada’s Premier Youth Entrepreneurship Conference,  the Impact National conference attracts 500 of the top high school and post-secondary students from across Canada.
    
6. Impact Connect (Year-round)
   With a focus on connecting students interested in entrepreneurship with the industry leaders who can inspire them, the Impact Connect team will be organizing entrepreneurship competitions, networking events, and seminars throughout the year.
    
7. I Am My Ambition (Year-round)
   Exposing an interview series aimed at highlighting ambitious and successful entrepreneurs, philanthropists and politicians to shed light on their starting up stories, and transfer lessons learned through experience while emphasizing immediate action. 
    
8. Youth Canada (Year-round)
   Youth Canada is the top online resource for Canadian high school students to find insight and opportunities to further enrich their lives.
    
9. Impact.org Network (Year-round)
   The Impact.org network strives to build an online and in-person community around Impact’s people, programs, and partners.
    
10. Impact Speakers’ Bureau (Year-round)
    More information coming soon! 

Stay tuned for an exciting year!

Impact is coming to Kingston!  On March 6, we will be holding a one-day discussion about innovative thought and the entrepreneurial spirit.  We are bringing some extraordinary speakers who will talk about their journeys to success and their experiences as entrepreneurs.  Our speakers include, among others:

Bruce Poon Tip (Founder & President/CEO, Gap Adventures, Speaker @ TEDx Bangkok and TEDx Whistler)
Julie Mitchell (Founder & Owner, Parcel Design)
Lauren Friese (Founder & Owner, Talent Egg)
Bobby Umar (Founder & President, Raeallan Consulting)
Alyssa Richard (Co-Founder, Break into Business)
Dave Hale (Co-Founder & CEO, Re: Cognition Branding)
Peng-Sang Cau (Co-Founder & President/CEO, Transformix Engineering)
Michele Romanow (Co-Founder, Evandale Caviar)

If you are interested in building your entrepreneurial skills, then you should definitely come to this event.  With our great lineup of speakers, you are sure to learn a lot!  The best part is that this event is completely free!

DETAILS

Date:  Saturday, March 6, 2010

Time:  10:00 am – 4:15 pm

Address:  Ellis Hall, Queen’s University (58 University Avenue, Kingston, ON)

To register, click here or email jane.wu@impact.org .

The Impact social that Impact Connect held on February 2nd at the University of Waterloo was a huge success, leaving Waterloo students and Impact members alike to be motivated and excited!

The session was very successful, with over 50 Waterloo students in attendance. A number of  Impact members were also there to share their experiences of being part of Impact, as well as to outline Impact’s plans for the upcoming year.

At the end of the session, many students stuck around to network and mingle with the Impact members, and many expressed interest in becoming involved with Impact’s programs in 2010!

If you were unable to attend Tuesday’s Impact social but are still interested in becoming a part of Impact team, please feel free to contact laura.chelaru (at) impact.org.

To see more photos from the Impact Social, click here.

This coming Friday, exactly one week before the 2010 Winter Olympics arrive in Vancouver, VEF Momentum will be hosting its first event of the year!

On Friday, February 5th at 5:30PM VEF Momentum: Higher, Faster, Stronger will feature a speaker and Q&A session, as well as ample networking time to help entrepreneurs connect with the people, resources and answers they need to succeed – all in an inviting, fun and casual atmosphere. What better way can you kick off the weekend than a great speaker, excellent company and delectable drinks and appetizers at our venue Pop Opera in the heart of downtown Vancouver.

When: Friday, February 5th, 2010
Start Time: 5:30PM
Location: Pop Opera, 686 W Hastings, Vancouver
Tickets: $10 – Register now (Registration is online only, there will be no registrations at the door and a maximum capacity of 150. Ticket price includes appetizers.)

The keynote speaker for the evening will be Mark Williams, Co-Founder of Elastic Path Software, a local success story that has created an e-commerce platform used by everyone from Sony Ericsson to the Vancouver Olympic Committee. Elastic Path has consistently ranked among the fastest growing companies in Canada. Mark will share some great war stories co-founding his start-up in Vancouver and will share what first-time entrepreneurs can do to reach the podium in their entrepreneurial endeavours.

Click here to register now!

For more information, please contact VEF Momentum at vefmomentum@gmail.com. You can also follow them on Twitter (@VEFMomentum), Facebook (VEF Momentum) or LinkedIn (group name: VEF Momentum).