In THIS first post about my trip to the Social Venture Institute at Hollyhock on Cortes Island I kicked things off on a slightly heavy tip with the details of my rare eye disease ( Central Serous Retinopathy ) and how we got to where we're at with th
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In THIS first post about my trip to the Social Venture Institute at Hollyhock on Cortes Island I kicked things off on a slightly heavy tip with the details of my rare eye disease (Central Serous Retinopathy) and how we got to where we're at with the regular travel/resort features in this Super, Neighbours series. I then proceeded to take you on a journey with me in my car onto 3 separate ferries, landing 6 hours later on the heavenly little island called Cortes, where Hollyhock is. |
In THIS second post I took you on a bit of a tour of Hollyhock itself and got all metaphorical about the SVI conference and how it changed my life and introduced me to a network of peers also doing positive work. Be it socially or environmentally focussed business leaders, all of us mission-based entrepreneurs are wearing similar shoes and working towards a greater good.
Okay, you can tell by this photo taken outside of the lodge that we all wear very different shoes, but we're still all connected.
I could write at length about each of the wonderful people that I made a connection with during my 5 days on Cortes Island but instead I'll simply introduce them and their businesses quickly and encourage you to click their links and see what they're up to. Some you may have heard of before, some are on their way up, and all of these people below are folks I had never met before but are now members of my personal network. The conference itself is an incredible experience but it really is the connections made that put it over the top. These 44 people actually only represent about one quarter of the people who attended, they are simply the ones that I had the opportunity to jam with...
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Graham Anderson and Kevin Cooper from Shift Urban Cargo Delivery. |
Deliveries made via zero-emissions, heavy-duty cargo trikes.
ShiftDelivery.ca
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Wes Baker and Amelia Ufford from DeBrand. |
Secure and responsible disposal of branded goods or materials.
DeBrand.ca
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James Barry from Wholesome2Go. |
Delicious food cooked by a celebrity chef, delivered direct to your door.
Wholesome2Go.com
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Myrna Boulding from Strathcona Park Lodge. |
Teaching the wonder, spirit and worth of people and the natural world.
Strathcona.bc.ca
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Nicole Bridger. |
Clothing designer doing what is right for the Earth, its People and Spirit.
NicoleBridger.com
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Kirby Brown from Playground Builders. |
Building hope (playgrounds!) from the ground-up in war-torn areas.
PlaygroundBuilders.org
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Stina Brown from the Social Change Institute. |
Invitation-only gathering of change agents, catalysts and movement builders.
SCIHollyhock.org
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Deena Chochinov. |
Partner and catalyst for people and organizations seeking meaningful change.
DeenaChochinov.com
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Kevin Clouthier and Sonia Pouyat from KidsLink. |
Help children, youth and families facing social, emotional and mental health challenges.
KidsLinkCares.com
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Carlo Culos from Renewal2. |
Invests in change by supporting businesses at the forefront of social and environmental innovation.
Renewal2.ca
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Michael Hannigan from Give Something Back. |
Office supplies company which gives 75% of their net proceeds to charity.
GiveSomethingBack.com
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Sean Hodgins from Century Group. |
Real estate development and property management company committed to building community.
CenturyGroup.ca
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Kent Houston from Patch. |
Easy, no-fail methods for growing your own food at home and in your neighbourhood.
LetsPatch.com
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Joey Hundert from Sustainival. |
World’s first green carnival, powered by vegetable oil, wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy.
Sustainival.com
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Emily Jubenvill from the Edible Garden Project. |
Grow and distributes locally produced food to low-income individuals and families on the North Shore.
EdibleGardenProject.com
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Darrell Kopke from Institute B. |
Entrepreneurs developing entrepreneurs. They think business should create societal value first, then profits.
InstituteB.com
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Michele Macready from Illume Consulting. |
Innovative business strategies for leading-edge technology products.
IllumeConsulting.com
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Melanie Matining from Power Of Hope. |
Unleashes the positive potential of youth through arts-centered learning programs.
PowerOfHope.org
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Kate Menzies from Silviculture Magazine. |
A voice for silviculture practitioners in Canada and abroad.
SilviCultureMagazine.com
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Erin O'Melinn from Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. |
A non-profit society whose goal is to make cycling an attractive choice for everyone.
VACC.bc.ca
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Jeff O'Reilly from Greenlight Projects. |
A development and project leadership team dedicated to Change Agents and Impact Investors worldwide.
GreenlightProjects.ca
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Lianne Payne from W2 Media Cafe. |
A cultural hub where digital art, culture, food and social inclusion intersect. .
CreativeTechnology.org
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Matthew Quetton from Momentum Consulting. |
Aligning high-performance organizations for social impact.
Momentum-Consulting.net
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Chris Reid from Brinkman. |
Reforestation company that enhances the forest resource and the forest environment around the globe.
Brinkman.ca
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Steve Rio from Briteweb. |
Interactive design and communication agency working with social ventures, culture creators and non-profits that help make the world a better place.
Briteweb.com
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Christopher Roy from Open Directions. |
Digital strategies for social good.
OpenDirections.com
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Eesmyal Santos-Brault from the Vancouver Design Nerds. |
Facilitating creative collaboration in Vancouver since 2004.
Vancouver.DesignNerds.org
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Karri Schuermans from Chambar. |
An unpretentious fling with fine dining.
Chambar.com
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Shaugn Schwartz from The Cleaning Solution. |
Socially progressive contract cleaning company that provides high quality, professional services.
CleaningSolution.ca
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Madelanie Shaw from Lunapads. |
Smart, sustainable alternatives to disposable pads and tampons.
LunaPads.com
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Mryriam Steinberg from In The House Festival. |
Transforming private living spaces into public cultural spaces.
InTheHouseFestival.com
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Denise Taschereau and Sarah White from Fairware. |
Sustainable promo products for your business.
Fairware.ca
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Michael Tippett from Growlab. |
Vancouver based startup accelerator.
Growlab.ca
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Tammy Tsang from My Loud Speaker. |
Young thinkers in advertising.
MyLoudSpeaker.ca
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Michael and Ibi Ziff from Hip Baby. |
Sustainability, value, function - and a whole lot of style. Newborn to Six.
HipBaby.com
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And of course I won't forgot to give shoutouts to a few people who were at SVI whom I had already been acquainted with prior to my adventure. Dana Bass Solomon who is the CEO of Hollyhock and her husband Joel Solomon of Tides Canada and Renewal2. Heidi Hartman of Hollyhock. Martha Rans, a lawyer who we recently worked with (and will work with again). Scott Hawthorn of Native Shoes, Carrie Russell of HVS, Seth Klein with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Lorien Henson from Limelight Events.
In conclusion I'll say that I look forward to many more trips to Hollyhock in the future, and to connecting with countless more likeminded folks along the way.
