2023 Challenge Winners
Project Mini Forests
Congratulations to Project Mini Forests! They received $5,000 toward their public awareness and tree planting initiative.
Tackling UN Goal #15: Life on Land, Project Mini Forests aims to spread awareness for local plants and animals in the Okanagan this through a project awareness campaign, which will include planting events. Project Mini Forests wants people to know how important plants are for our environment, a healthier community, and how it impacts biodiversity. Follow this team of changemakers on Instagram: @betterworldclub_kelowna
LifeGarden2023
Our team is called LifeGarden2023 and we are providing funding for and overseeing the creation of sustainable, organic farms in rural Liberia. We are working with Provision of Hope to help teach workshops that educate citizens on how to organically farm properly and sustainably. Our project primarily targets Goal #2: Zero Hunger (by creating an accessible and affordable food source), as well as Goal #3, Good Health and Well-Being (by improving the overall diets and immune systems of Liberian citizens).
Find us on Instagram: LifeGarden2023
From the Ground Up
From the Ground Up’s project revolves around obtaining funding in order to install a geothermal heat pump inside Ozanam Recovery House which would tackle goals 3 (Good Health and Well Being) and 13 (Climate Action). Installing said geothermal heat pumps in their transition home would both lower the costs of running the house and allow more funding and efforts to be allocated towards the rehabilitation services they offer.
Follow From the Ground Up on Instagram: Fromthegroundup2023
Metro Entertainment Drive
Our project will be a donation drive at our school for board games, coloring supplies, books, and other forms of entertainment. The proceeds will go to Metro, a community organization that works with people living in homelessness. We are addressing goal #3: Good Health and Well-Being.
Stop the Stigma!
To tackle UN goal #10: Reduced Inequalities, our project is focused on trying to reduce stigma in our community, especially the stigma surrounding homelessness. We are Kelowna youth aiming to build an online presence so we can share with the youth around us the true stories of people who have experienced or are experiencing being unhoused.
Start A Cycle
Our project is to add more bike racks at KSS and change a policy so that schools will be built with more bike racks. We also plan to incorporate a lock sharing system for KSS so that students that cannot afford locks will be able to borrow them. Our group is most passionate about goal #13, Climate Action, and #11, Sustainable Cities & Communities.
2022 Challenge Winners
Thrifty Thursdays in partnership with Kelowna Gospel Mission
Thrifty Thursdays pop up thrift shop at KSS is showing others that clothing can be affordable and sustainable when we purchase previously loved items rather than purchasing new. Their impact is growing!
Congratulations to Thrifty Thursdays for their winning project in the 2022 Challenge Project and Pitch category. Thanks to our generous donors, they shared in the $9000 of funding given to make student sustainable projects a reality. This team of 6 Kelowna High school students started out in a “Sustainability Club” that met on Mondays at lunch. With a common interest in bringing awareness and change to their school and community on issues that affect the environment, they worked together to build this project that will impact Global Goal #12-Responsible Production and Consumption and Goal #1- No Poverty. Every Thursday in a science classroom at their school, they host a pop up thrift shop for staff and students. The shopping experience provides affordable previously loved clothing items for sale as well as other sustainable student made items. The team prepares the donated items and displays them, markets the sales on their social media platforms (@kssthrift) and runs their non profit clothing business all while creating awareness around the impact the fashion industry has on the environment and humanity. All of the profits from the weekly sales are then donated to the local charities chosen by the students. Not only are they creating impact in their own school, but they plan to share their message about the impact of consumer choice when it comes to fashion. They hope to reduce the stigma of thrift shopping within their own schools and also to younger students in the district by giving guest presentations to middle schools. Thrifty Thursdays is already up and running and creating a source of revenue for local charities. You can donate gently used item at KSS in the bin provided by the front office.
ACCESSi in Partnership with Hands in Service
Meet the creators of ACCESSi, a website designed to make our city of Kelowna accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. These high school seniors have personal connections to those who suffer from reduced abilities and they know first hand how it can create exclusivity in day to day outings. Focusing on Global Goal #10, Reduced Inequalities, this team wants to bring awareness to the challenges many people face when trying to navigate businesses or recreational facilities in our city. By creating a website they hope to have a one stop shop for those looking for barrier free establishments. The purpose is not only to encourage local businesses to think about their physical spaces and how they can make them more available to all, but also to make it easier for those with disabilities to choose welcoming places. ACCESSi members will come to your business and do an assessment for mobility and sensory barriers and then suggest ways to improve. Those businesses will then be promoted on the ACCESSi site. The website is meant to be an interactive social place where people can share their experiences and share tips and info for those with physical barriers or mental health concerns over highly sensory spaces. They have partnered with Hands in Service, a local non-profit who works with the elderly and those with limited abilities to get them the access they need to thrive. They received funding from the SDC this year and have started to build their website and engage younger volunteers to get this project off the ground. See it HERE Follow them on their social media instagram site HERE
Smoothie City in Partnership with SD23
Rutland Senior Secondary students proving “Every sip Matters” with their school based sustainable smoothie cafe that supports local charities and creates a welcoming environment.
Smoothie City is a school based smoothie cafe whose aim is to bring their diverse school community together, one sip at a time. By modelling a sustainable business practise with the use of organic ingredients and sustainable service items, this group of students is creating a culture of positivity with a goal to offer students a healthy alternative all in a welcoming and supportive environment. Smoothie City believes “Every Sip Matters” and their profits from the business go back into the community with regular donations to the charities their customers choose. Modelling themselves after Okanagan Mission High School’s Mission Roots Cafe, their business is also more about learning skills and creating an inclusive space for their peers than it is about profits for themselves. Their project targets Global Goals #11 Building strong communities, #12-Responsible Production and Consumption and #3 Good Health and Well Being. The team plans to encourage other schools to adopt this model of providing a great place to meet and share with each other over a smoothie or coffee at their high school. See their instagram HERE.
The Ripple Effect in Partnership with Life Water Canada and CISNC
Congratulation to The Ripple Effect who are working to combat the water crisis in our world on both a local and international level. This team of Immaculata High School students are taking action to educate their peers in Kelowna on the responsible use of water and also providing a clean water source to a vulnerable community in Kenya. During the creation of their project they recognized that the cultural diversity of their team members provided opportunities to share different experiences about the state of the water crisis. Three team members who had lived in the Philippines had direct knowledge of the lack of clean drinking water in many communities there. One member who grew up in Kelowna wasn’t aware of the importance of conserving water because of the seemingly abundant sources we have here. This opened dialogue and debate and ultimately led them to create a two pronged project that addressed both issues. The Ripple Effect team all agreed that Global Goal #6 Clean Water and Goal #12 Responsible Production and Consumption were both important issues to target. Their project would have them creating an educational program to teach their own peers at their high school about the worldwide problem of a diminishing supply of clean and safe water. They will install water saving diverter devices in their school taps and measure the water saved to serve as a starting point for their awareness campaign. They will also visit local elementary schools in their diocese and share their knowledge and encourage other youth to conserve water. In addition to this, they are working with Life Water Canada and using some of their funds to supply a well in a village in Kenya. By addressing the issues of water on both fronts, they are creating impact that will be sustainable. They are hopeful their work will create a ripple effect of change. Follow them HERE.
Metro Hair in partnership with Metro Community Church
Metro Hair- working to build confidence in those experiencing homelessness with regular hair cut services at Metro Church.
How can you build a community up with a hair cut? That is how the team from Metro Hair plan to build bridges between those experiencing homelessness with others. Focusing on Global Goals #3, Good Health and Well Being and #10, Reduced Inequalities, this team believes that by organizing local hairdressers to provide free haircuts at Metro on a regular basis, they will create opportunities for building comradery and compassion as well as reduce the stigma people experiencing homelessness often face because they are un-groomed. This team volunteers at Metro through their school and has come to realize the amazing programs they provide to the most vulnerable in our community. They wanted to add to this by helping to organize Metro Hair and hopefully improve the confidence of their clients and ultimately help them on their journey moving forward. They are hoping to find local hair dressers to step up to volunteer to do this important work. Follow them HERE
Books for Books in partnership with Niteo Africa
“Books for Books” team have a strong partnership with Niteo Africa and their partners in Uganda. Literacy for all is their focus.
With a will to improve literacy for girls in Uganda, the “Books for Books” dedicated team wants to support Niteo Africa, a locally based organization that does work there. Their Project will make and sell notebooks here in Kelowna and use the funds to financially support Niteo’s work and programs in developing countries. Niteo is known for creating libraries and building literacy in vulnerable places to improve lives and create more opportunities for those who need it. The students will begin working with local volunteers to make the notebooks and sell them to local businesses who have an interest in helping others. The profits will pay for books and literacy programs in the places where Niteo and their partners work in the hopes that a better education will lead to ending the cycle of poverty for many, especially girls. Targeting Global Goals #4, Quality Education and #5, Gender Equality, they hope their project will build awareness and community locally through the book making sessions and will build a sustainable source of financial support for the programs that create better educational opportunities for girls in impoverished communities in Uganda. See the work Niteo is doing HERE.
Arts for Social Change participants
Arts for Social Change had 28 student entries this year and One Plan B Video. Community public exhibits were held throughout the months of February and March at various locations and our student art received great exposure which in turn inspired many in our city to learn about the global goals through their artistic work. $1000 of donor funds was divided between the top artists to further their work on impacting the issues that matter to them. Receiving financial awards were: Max Blackwell for “Between Black and White”, Marceline Smith for “The Words will Never Exist”, Alexie Bernasor for “Reflection”, Ryan Williams for “Patchwork Wedding Dress”, Lucas Wentworth and JB Ombing for “Pay Attention”, Grace for “Reduced Inequalities”, Catarina for “Zero Hunger”, Chayse and Logan for “Life under Water and Life on Land” and St. Joseph Grade 6 Class for “Haiti Rap”
Highlighting this year’s visual arts entries.
Lucas Wentworth and JB Ombing’s original song entry, Pay Attention
St. Joseph Elementary Grade 6 student’s video entry for Haiti in My Heart
Emerging team project: KLO Modular Farm
KLO Middle school students targeting Global Goal #2-Zero Hunger
Middle school students are growing their own healthy food on the school property in a modular farm. They are learning about growing techniques and are feeding their school families on a regular basis with the food they are growing. They hope to expand their project and educate their peers on food security and Global Goal #2 Zero Hunger.