Finishing up its seventh cycle in 2021, the Social Innovation Seed Fund (SISF) provides SFU students access to early-stage financial support for their projects, initiatives, programs and processes intended to create positive social, economic, or environmental change.
The fund was created by Embark and RADIUS to unlock the potential of social innovation projects led by SFU students. Each year Embark and RADIUS partner to provide funding up to $2,000 depending on the project size and budget. This year, the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship has generously contributed an additional $2,500 for the final round of seed funding, expanding student impact projects even more.
Congratulations to the 13 projects that received funding from Social Innovation Seed Fund! Learn more about the recipients below.
BYO is a mobile app-based reward program that incentivizes customers to bring their own cup to local cafes via rewards and tree planting. BYO reduces disposable cup waste and supports reforestation. Find out more at their website.
The “Build our Grad Support Community” project wants to create a robust online community for graduate students at Simon Fraser University by designing and performing interactive online Gatherings to support graduate students (especially newcomers and international students). These Gatherings will be organized in multiple languages such as English, Farsi, Punjabi, Mandarin.
Beyond Us is a podcast co-hosted by Hussein Elhagehassan and Stephanie Lam looking to explore various social, political, economic and personal topics through the lens of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. Each podcast focuses on subjects like personal development, career, and strengthening their interracial/interfaith relationship through conversation with the BIPOC community across Canada.
This dialogue-focused event and panel hopes to build on existing resources that address anti-racism with communities of colour while providing a braver space for youth of colour to learn from each other, as we continue to navigate spaces in the environmental movement in solidarity and in allyship. Find out more at their website.
Unitiate is a non-profit organization providing mentorship to high school students to receive the support they need to get into their desired career and post-secondary institution. The free online platform covers the majority of the high schools in urban and rural areas in British Columbia. With assistance ranging from post-secondary admissions to first-year crash courses, students can expect to be better prepared with transitioning into post-secondary. Find out more at their website.
Cirendipity is a candle brand focused on reducing waste of consumer packaged goods through innovative wax disposal and refill methods. The product contains a silicone mold that holds the wax, allowing users to easily remove the leftover product and purchase refills to reduce additional waste. Find out more on Cirendipity’s Instagram page.
Widening the Frame in Healthcare: Centering the Voices of Newcomer and Refugee Communities aims to look at immigrants’ and refugees’ healthcare provider expectations and their experiences with the healthcare system in a community-engaged approach. Through dialogue and discussion, they hope to create recommendations to better equip the next generation of healthcare workers working with this population.
Closing the Gaps aims to enhance the voices, engagement, and collection of data on perception of campus physical safety for identified priority groups on campus (women, BIPOC, gender diverse and mobility diverse students). Their goal is to enhance student engagement with an Instagram campaign and report a summary of data to campus security on the perceptions of priority groups on campus. Find out more at their website.
The Vision Zero Road Safety Project includes peer-led walk-tours and arts-based workshops with Surrey’s newcomer youths to support them in gaining knowledge and skills related to traffic safety. Ultimately, they aim to engage newcomer youth in dialogue related to traffic safety, promote community resource information sharing among youth and extended family networks, and improve newcomers’ well-being through meaningful community relationships. In 5 years, they hope that Surrey will see a significant reduction in traffic-related injuries and fatalities, and newcomer youth will be better educated and collaboratively engaged in Surrey’s road safety and navigation efforts.
Jordan and the Magic Cape is a children’s book centered around the importance of textile sustainability. Written to be enjoyed by children ages 4 – 7 (and their parents), this book explains the importance of reusing clothing and includes a hands-on activity to encourage the practice in daily life. Find out more and read the book online.
Finding Present is a youth-led project using art for social good. They will be designing, creating, and delivering boxes of art-related and stress-relieving items to youth in the Fraser Valley, which will help more children in our area discover their passions and join our supportive community of young artists.
Glow Girls is a customizable program aimed to empower young feminine-identifying high school students through interactive workshops on women’s physical, mental and emotional health.
SAH Network aims to create a safe environment for South Asian youth to connect with peer support and community learning. They normalize healing around issues of family dysfunction, alcoholism/substance abuse within families, and mental health.
Header photo by Markus Spiske via Unsplash. Additional blog graphic by Embark.