Thanks Subway!

What a fantastic surprise! Jean Belzile from Subway (Bank & Leitrim) stopped by today wiht 82 subs to give out to our clients for supper.  Jean collected Subway points at his store.  Customers would donate their leftover points in order to provide a meal for those in need. Once again our community amazed me at how they come through so that our clients can enjoy a special treat.

Here is a photo in our soup kitchen of Jean, Rob Eady and myself with all 82 sandwiches!

Wes Nicol Award

Earlier this month, I was honoured to be a judge for the Wes Nicol Award.  The one thing that amazes me so much about participating in events like this is all of the young talent.

Please take some time to read the media release below about the amazing winners and nominees.

The Telfer School of Management and Exploriem.org are pleased to announce the winners of the University of Ottawa’s 2012 Wes Nicol Business Plan Competition. Student entrepreneurs Alex Smith and Chris Spoke took first prize for their business plan for Liaise, a web and mobile platform that hosts interactive seminars and video chats, for a fee.

The winning team takes home $5,000 and the chance to compete for the Nicol Award, against the winning teams from competitions in 15 other Canadian universities. The Nicol Award is a national program designed to generate and reward interest in entrepreneurship on the part of undergraduate students in any faculty or field of study at participating universities across Canada.

Dr. Bruce M. Firestone, Executive Director of Exploriem.org served as MC for the afternoon competition and remarked that: “We have seen more student entrepreneurs involved each year as they go through elevator pitch competitions, business model competitions and finally the Wes Nicol Business Plan Competition. Many of these go on to found flourishing Real Life enterprises. It is thanks to the generosity of people like Wes Nicol that we can host these competitions and encourage new entrepreneurs in Canada.”

The three judges for the competition were Anna Silverman, Executive Director Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation; Rick Bédard, successful Internet entrepreneur and Stephen Daze, President and CEO of the AGAWA Entrepreneurship Development Corporation.

Unsung Hero's business plan, presented by Adam Haggart and Rafal Deren, took second place and a prize of $2,000.  The top three was rounded out by Valued Pets business plan presented by Hiam Al-Dhabbi, taking home $1,000.

For more information, please contact Stephanie Montreuil

Stef.montreuil@gmail.com or 613-327-8878

2012 Community Impact Award

On February 23rd, 2012 Shepherds of Good Hope became the recipient of the Bootstrap Award for Community Impact. We were chosen for our use of social media on our fundraising campaigns and our commitment in the community.

Dr. Bruce M. Firestone, a local entrepreneur and founder of the Ottawa Senators, launched the first Bootstrap Awards event in 2004 with Exploriem.org, a registered not-for-profit organization, as he believed bootstrapping entrepreneurs deserved more recognition.

I was honoured to accept this award on behalf of Shepherds of Good Hope for our use of social media and our work in the community. Social media has changed the way we reach out to our donors and followers.

Please watch the video I have posted of the big moment that we won!

About Me

I would like to introduce myself; my name is Anna Silverman and I am honoured to have taken on the role of Executive Director, Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation.

I come to the foundation with many years of fundraising and management behind me. In my volunteer days I raised funds for such organizations as the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Tamir Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa and many more.  I took on my first professional fundraising role with the Soloway Jewish Community Centre. Then onto the Ottawa Humane Society where I was responsible for raising the funds for a brand new shelter and now, I am very pleased to have joined the Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation.