The Sustainable Development Challenge thanks The Rotary Club of Kelowna for $5,000! “Service Above Self” is their motto and our local branch of this international organization has been proudly serving our community since 1928. This $5,000 sponsorship ensures that the students in the Challenge will be able to go on and achieve tremendous impact. It's because of organizations like The Rotary Club of Kelowna that we are able to empower students to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. *This prize money was awarded to Education4Her’s partner NGO, ISEE Solutions

The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association is committed to creating a strong and healthy tourism economy whilst minimizing the impact on our natural and cultural resources. They promote sustainable business practises and responsible travel. They have achieved Certified Gold Destination Status by working with the international organization Responsible Tourism Insitute and are putting our region on the map in more ways than one! They are all about working towards the Global Goals and have invested in the ideas of our youth by sponsoring $1500 to enable one of our top projects to get off the ground. We are grateful for their partnership. *This prize was awarded to Garden of Knowledge’s NGO, Provision of Hope

True believers in the power of locally inspired good deeds, grass-roots Kelowna based DO SOME GOOD promotes and supports our community’s volunteer efforts. Their highly successful APP connects charitable organizations and businesses to make a meaningful impact in communities all across Canada. They are getting behind the Sustainable Development Challenge by donating $1000. Coming on board as a financial partner and helping us to develop our platform for youth, this organization is living their mission to build sustainable communities. Thank you! *This prize was awarded to Hands 4 Homeless’ NGO, Metro

Planet Bee is dedicated to continually improving the sustainability of their business both environmentally, socially and economically. They’ve received Green Tourism Silver accreditation in 2016 and 2018 and will continue their efforts in reaching gold status. Recognizing a healthy honey bee population requires a healthy planet, so they are stepping up to provide a $300 prize to our top Plan B video winner to empower our youth and preserve the planet for future generations. Thanks! *This prize was awarded to KSS’ winning team’s NGO, HER International

Since its origins Gorman Bros. Lumber (Gormans) has been community oriented and has believed in giving back to the local communities that it calls home. With a strong understanding that healthy communities are built through people working together, Gormans has partnered with, many different organizations who share these similar core values. Thank you for being regular financial supporters of our student platform on the Global Goals. Your yearly donation ensures we can continue to bring this opportunity to the youth in our community.

B.C. Sustainable Energy Association, has an Okanagan chapter that brings together committed volunteers to support the sustainable production, distribution and consumption of energy in BC and beyond. They collaborate with various groups and think tanks to engage the public in their goals of accelerating our province’s transition to a lower-carbon economy. If Goals #7, 11 and #12 are your jam, then they would love to work with you!

Elizabeth Fry Society is focused on supporting survivors of domestic & sexual violence in our community. We envision a world where women, youth, and all individuals are safe, empowered and achieving healthy families. We move towards this goal (Goals #1, #3, #5, #11 and #16) through implementing several programs, including youth preventative programs like Girls United & Tough Guise, where we teach youth self esteem, relationship building skills, boundaries, self confidence and leadership skills. We also offer trauma counselling for sexual assault, and specialized victim assistance to provide crisis response, risk assessment, safety planning, court support and emotional support to adult and youth victims of family and sexual violence. If you have any ideas or plans on how to empower assault survivors, decrease instances of assault or create a future where all individuals can live a safe and healthy life then this is the organization for you. If you’d like more information, feel free to check out their website at www.coefs.ca or their new #SPEAKOUT campaign at www.speakoutokanagan.com

Food for Thought is all about Goal #2 and #3. Feeding over 1600 school-aged children in 29 schools in the Okanagan through breakfast programs, backpack programs, living salads and fruit preservation, they are committed to eliminate hunger one child at a time. An umbrella group of Hope for the Nations, Food for Thought relies on its amazing volunteers to build a strong sense of community by supporting and empowering students to live to their full potential with a full belly and happy heart! They welcome an SDC team to work alongside them in ending hunger in our city.

By building affordable homes for families in the Okanagan for over 25 years, Habitat for Humanity Okanagan is creating strong and sustainable communities (Goal #11) They believe in human dignity, partnership, diversity and inclusivity and they model this in their collaborative approach to home building. They believe every family should have safe, decent and affordable housing. Their ReStore program models Goal #12 by keeping household items out of the landfill and selling them at their volunteer run store. Their work is local and impactful for families. If you care about Goal #10, Reduced Inequalities and have new ideas for them, they would be happy to work with a Challenge team to grow their non profit housing organization with your sustainable project. See their work www.hfhokanagan.ca

Haiti in My Heart strives to relieve poverty in Haiti primarily by providing access to free education to enable children to pursue opportunities for higher learning. Focusing on Goals #1 and #4 they are looking forward to finding a youth to help them support the communities they care about. Ready to go with some great project needs ie: a chicken coop for sustainable food source and a school garden- they would like to partner with an SDC team to work together to find sustainable solutions.

With a strong focus on Global Goals #5 and #4, Her International empowers women and girls in Nepal and Canada through education. By providing educational opportunities for people living in poverty in Canada and abroad they are able to promote a better life for the females they help and in turn develop the entire family and community. Through various innovative programs, they are fighting for gender equality for the female heroes they work with. They are wanting to hear what youth teams would do to enhance their work.

Hope for the Nations is involved in 45 projects around the world and here in the Okanagan. With the Sustainable Development Goals as their guide they work with various organizations to bring global solutions and peace and prosperity for all people and the planet. They have worked with youth teams in the past and appreciate the enthusiasm and fresh ideas they bring. Currently focusing on projects ranging from Goal #2 Zero Hunger, #3, #4, #6 and Goals #7 Clean Energy, using solar panels in Mexico and Malawi.

The Ki Low Na Friendship Society provides for the health and well being (Goal #3) of all peoples through the development of community based services while encouraging the community to preserve, share and promote Aboriginal cultural distinctiveness. Health and wellness, family services, child development, homeless and housing support, central green housing and English language services are some of the areas their work focuses on targeting Goals #1, #2, #4, #8, #10 #15-#17!. They are happy to work with youth who have a desire to better their own community with creative and sustainable solutions.

Mamas for Mamas, founded in 2015 in Kelowna, is a grassroots organization that wants to change the landscape of poverty by creating innovative strategies to remove financial barriers faced by struggling families. A huge and enthusiastic team of volunteers have impacted thousands of families in our city through their volunteer run farm, at risk services program and their Karma Market to name a few. They would love to welcome a passionate team on board who care about Goal #1- No Poverty, Goal #3, Good Health and well being and #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Metro Central is the daytime “home” for some of Kelowna’s most vulnerable people. Metro believes in the value of every person and encourages dignity, safety, respect and acceptance by promoting a sense of relationship and community. With Goal #3 Health and Well Being as their focus, they are committed to finding creative and sustainable solutions to ease the issues their clients face on a daily basis. Youth teams will find a variety of opportunities to come alongside this passionate organization to make real change in their own city.

St. Vincent de Paul Society is a lay Catholic organization who is active in Social Justice works in Kelowna working with Ozanam Recovery House: a home for men struggling with addictions and mental health issues and Invincible Housing: a rent subsidy program. They sit on the board of the Journey Home taskforce. They are excited to work with youth on their initiatives.

The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) is a non profit organization whose goal is to ensure our region becomes a world class destination by developing authentic and quality tourism experiences. Having recently won awards in sustainability, they are focused on building relationships within our community that facilitate environmental, cultural and economic sustainability. Goal #11 is at the heart of their work and they want to encourage youth to be a part of the decision making for the future of our beautiful Thompson Okanagan region. If you are passionate about impacting your local environment and helping to create solutions that will leave a legacy for future generations, then TOTA would like to hear from you.

The United Way is targeting several Global Goals right here in the Okanagan. They are improving lives locally by moving people from poverty to possibility, helping kids be all they can be and building strong and healthy communities- (Goals #1, #3, #10, #11 and #17) By using creative and diverse approaches to tackling issues like poverty, mental illness and social isolation, this organization is able to affect change. Their NEW campaign #unignorable is a cutting edge program that highlights the need to identify, talk about and act on those things in our society we often ignore. If you have creative ideas that are aligned with their mission and programs, then they want to meet you! See their campaign #unignorable

JCI (Junior Chamber International) are proud to support the next generation of change makers and leaders!  As an organization focused on implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals on a local level, we are a group of young professionals and leaders that support the SDC through facilitating the mentorship portion of the platform and promoting engagement with the student projects and Challenge platform within our circles. As young active citizens ages 18-40, we are thrilled to empower these students to make their project dreams a reality. For more information about JCI Kelowna or to become a member, please visit www.jcikelowna.com

coLab is a place where everyone is welcome, appreciated and valued. We are a group of purposeful and connected individuals creating an environment of creativity and innovation in our communities and worldwide. We envision and co-create a new economic engine composed of collaboration and community. coLab has supported SDC and our youth teams by offering their workspace for our mentor nights. Magic happens here! The energy created when our youth meet community expert mentors is something special. We are grateful for their partnership creating an inclusive welcoming place for our teams to thrive.