Enactus group at Lambton College one of two top award winners
Lambton College is celebrating victory after claiming one of the top awards during the 2016 Enactus Canada Regional Exposition held this past weekend in Mississauga.
The two-day event welcomed Enactus teams from universities and colleges throughout central Canada as they showcased their community outreach projects and business ventures through rounds of live competition.
For the fourth year in a row, the Enactus Lambton team was named the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge Regional Champion for their work transforming the rural villages of Kasaka and Gaali, Zambia through their One Seed project, expanding the project from 700 farmers to over 3,000 this year. The One Seed team is also building a drip irrigation system at the Gaali Basic School that will feed over 1,100 students. Enrolment at the school is forecasted to increase by over 400 students now that this food will be available.
“The work that our students are doing in Zambia is truly inspirational, attracting national recognition and partnerships with some of the world’s most reputed agricultural companies,” says Jon Milos, director, Entrepreneurship, Lambton College. “Their accomplishments speak volumes of the dedication and effort of our students and the training they receive at Lambton College and this award was very well deserved.”
In addition to taking home the competition’s top prize, Enactus Lambton President Haylee McKelvie was also named the HSBC Woman Leader of Tomorrow. McKelvie, a Business Administration student manages the team’s Financial Literacy project, and worked to expand the program to Ontario Works, Lambton College, Kettle Point and Stony Point, the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre, Huron House Boys Home and the Lambton Kent District School Board. McKelvie also worked to bring the Financial Literacy program to 300 farmers in Zambia, while expanding the team’s One Seed project into health care, clean water and entrepreneurship.
“Haylee has always taken her role seriously and is passionate about achieving results,” says Milos. “Her accomplishments are truly remarkable and frankly, she emboldens all of the qualities that Enactus stands for. She is determined, focused, selfless and always puts the needs of others before herself.”
The team’s regional success has earned them the chance to compete at the Enactus Canada National Exposition in Toronto, May 2 – 4. Last year, the team managed to claim two first place finishes and one runner up at the national level.
Recognized as the country’s largest student leadership development organization, Enactus Canada empowers post-secondary students to enable progress by supporting entrepreneurial action through competition, recognition and education. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, more than 2,300 student leaders across the country create and implement over 350 community empowerment projects and business ventures every year in communities coast to coast.
