Impact August 2010 Update
Over the past few months, Impact has been hard at work on a variety of exciting projects, and our efforts are beginning to take fruition. With Impact Apprentice just around the corner, and the successful launch of the I Am My Ambition video campaign, we have accomplished much and have much more on the way. Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to:
I Am My Ambition
Although media has begun the glorification of entrepreneurs, there is often a failure to recognize the trials and tribulations behind their achievements. This prevents youth from connecting with entrepreneurs on a personal level, which inhibits them from perceiving themselves able to achieve that level of accomplishment.
The goal of I Am My Ambition is to bridge this gap by performing in-depth interviews with 19 amazing individuals, and extracting the real essence of their struggles and accomplishments. The 40 minute interviews are cut down to a 2-3 minute version, and each features a unique message taken from the entrepreneur. It is our ambition to reconnect a world of youth to the entrepreneurs of their age, and remind them that they too can achieve great things.
For more information on the I Am My Ambition video campaign, please visit the official I Am My Ambition Website, our Facebook Fan Page, and follow us on Twitter.Impact Apprentice
After a rigorous application process involving the creation of videos and hour long interviews, 32 of over 600 applicants will be participating in this year’s Impact Apprentice Competition. The competition will be held at the Marriott Toronto Eaton Centre, in the heart of Downtown Toronto from August 23rd to August 26th, 2010.
The Apprentice team has been working very hard to create a one of a kind experience for all participants. From catered meals, social events in the evenings, and an amazing hotel, these 4 days will be unforgettable. After all, most people don’t start their day competing in a business competition and end it by going paint-balling.
The majority of the costs for our competitors and the event have been covered by our generous sponsors Walmart Canada, KPMG, Studentawards.com and Strutta.For more information about the Impact Apprentice Competition, please visit the Impact Apprentice website, the Impact Apprentice Facebook page, or the check out the video application entries at Impact Apprentice Video website.
What high-school students did with $100
To celebrate the success of the year's Microcredit competition and the amazing group of competitors, Impact Microcredit's amazing Media Partner, Globe Campus, published this incredible article on the 10 day challenge. The article features interviews with competitors, the President of the Impact Entrepreneurship Group and the chairperson for this year's Microcredit competiton!
Congratulations to the Microcredit team and all the participants in this years competition! Check out the full article here.
$100. 10 Days. One Challenge.
Impact Entrepreneurship Group unveils 10 Initiatives for 2010
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. Visit the website for more information and to register.
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. Impact Mesh (Year-round)
Impact Mesh strives to build an online and in-person community around Impact's people, programs, and partners.
9. Impact Speakers' Bureau (Year-round)
More information coming soon!
10. Impact Media (Year-round)
An initiative of Impact Marketing, Impact Media will allow our followers, delegates, members and leaders access to exclusive Impact Entrepreneurship Group media content.
Stay tuned for an exciting year!
In the News
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Micro-lending at Metro State
Denver Daily
July 9th, 2009Micro-lending has become a new trend among higher-education institutions, according to Jackowski. The program allows educational facilities to provide financing for community and student start-ups.
Alex Shipillo, who runs the Impact Entrepreneurship Group, said micro-lending is a great way to encourage entrepreneurship.
“I think it’s really important because this is the first recession that we’re facing in our generation and the most successful companies are the ones that are the most entrepreneurial,” he said. “I think that’s why we’re seeing in the last year or so a huge rise of people who are starting their own ventures, and I think that teaching that as young as possible is important.”
The loans from the Center for Innovation and RMMFI will range from $250-$1,000 and be distributed once a quarter. The loans will be for six months and have 9-percent interest rate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alex Shipillo Named Top 20 Under 20
Globe and Mail
June 3rd, 2009Through Impact, Alex also developed the Microcredit Competition (http://microcredit.impact.org), which provides teams of high-school students from across Canada with a $100 loan and one week to generate as much revenue as possible for a charity of their choice. In 2008, it raised $15,000 through 35 schools; next year, Alex is hoping 500 schools will participate.
“It’s very inspiring for students to know that they’re capable of taking an idea and turning it into reality,” says Alex, who has just finished his third year studying sciences at UBC and hopes to start his own business one day. “Youth engagement is about more than just learning at school,” he says. “It’s about supporting and inspiring them.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BC, Saskatchewan and Ontario teams Win Top Awards at the Impact Microcredit Competition
April 28th, 2009Vancouver, BC – Students from Walter Murray Collegiate Institute in Saskatoon are winners of the Studentawards.com National Champion award in the Impact Microcredit 2009 competition, a youth entrepreneurship competition organized by the Impact Entrepreneurship Group and sponsored by Studentawards Inc. The team made over $2400 in one week by selling advertising on ecologically friendly shopping bags that were then distributed to local businesses. Two other teams across Canada garnered top recognition in the competition. Killarney Secondary in Vancouver, British Columbia won the BC Innovation Council Award while Bowmanville High School in Bowmanville, Ontario won the Encounters with Canada Business and Entrepreneurship Award. All teams started with only $100 in seed funding.
