Young money working for charity
VMC students begin classroom businesses
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This article was published 16/06/2015 (3938 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Students at Vincent Massey Collegiate are testing out their entrepreneurial skills with some creative ventures.
Eleni Hague and Ainsley Dubowec are the creators of Coffee Scrub, an all-natural, homemade body scrub, and are selling their product for a good cause.
“Part of the reason we chose coffee is because research shows that coffee helps protect your skin from UV rays which is one of the main causes of skin cancer,” explained Hague.
The two Grade 11 students are donating the proceeds from the sale of Coffee Scrub to CancerCare Manitoba.
Hague and Dubowec were two of dozens of Manitoba students who showcased their business ventures at the 2015 Winnipeg Entrepreneurial Adventure Showcase on May 26.
Working with teachers and volunteer business mentors, students from kindergarten to Grade 12 created small-scale classroom businesses to raise money for local, national, and international charities.
This event is a culmination of the national Entrepreneurial Adventure program that helps students develop entrepreneurial skills, such as communication, collaboration, public speaking, and the importance of social responsibility.
According to Dubowec, the pair used their business acumen to strategically target their market (women aged 13 to 30) using social media, particularly Instagram.
“It’s a huge growing trend on Instagram now, so we did a lot of marketing online,” Dubowec said.
So far they have sold 55 units for $4.50 each. About a quarter of the pair’s profits will be going to charity.
Elysa Michael, a Grade 11 student at VMC, turned her hobby of tie-dying into a profitable business, with proceeds going to the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Michael and her group sell customizable tie-dye apparel under the brand LAF Clothing. According to Michael, her team pooled their skills and came up with a product they believed would be in demand.
“We were in class brainstorming some ideas. We all threw together some skills that we had and threw out that I have some tie dye at home and I am pretty good at,” Michael said. “It’s taken off pretty well for us.”
LAF Clothing has sold at three local high schools so far with orders outstanding and more to be completed through the summer.