Toronto, ON (Wednesday, March 3, 2010) – St. Francis Xavier University’s “Students In Free Enterprise” or SIFE team has been named the SIFE Green Challenge Regional Champion by national charitable organization Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE).

All Atlantic based SIFE teams were judged by live panels of business professionals and regional champions were announced on Friday February 26th in Halifax at the 2010 ACE Atlantic Regional Exposition, proudly supported by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

The SIFE team from St. FX University stood out to the judges because of their dedication to environmental issues specifically on their school’s campus. Accomplishments to date include supplying each of the 73 apartments which house almost 300 students, with a kitchen compost bin, and an informational sheet with the environmental and financial benefits of composting. The next phase will be addressing the oil and electricity use in these two buildings.

"Winning the SIFE Green Challenge has given us the confidence to go out on a limb, and trust our instincts so that we can make a difference on our campus, and in our community”, explains SIFE Project Manager, Maura Casey. “Without SIFE, this would not be possible for us.”

The end goal of this annual challenge is for SIFE teams to provide others with the knowledge required to make positive environmental decisions, both in their personal and professional lives. Teams have been provided the necessary tools and training from ACE to develop and implement their extensive projects to help others. The St. FX team will now move on to the national level of competition taking place in Calgary on May 11th.

The St. FX team is breaking new ground in the environmental arena at their campus – these accomplishments should not go unnoticed”, comments ACE President, Amy Harder    . “I would also like to thank ACOA for their support in Atlantic Canada; with their assistance we continue to provide a platform for young easterner’s to explore entrepreneurship as a viable career option.” 

About ACE
Founded in the mid-1980s, Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) is a national, charitable organization that is teaching and igniting young Canadians to create brighter futures for themselves and their communities. ACE delivers a team-based program called Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) and an individual-based program, the Student Entrepreneur National Competition. These programs provide university and college students access to real world experience, through the implementation of outreach projects and business ventures that complement in-class studies. Students involved in ACE make a meaningful contribution to their communities today, and discover their potential to achieve an even greater impact as the leaders of tomorrow. Last year, ACE students created 600 jobs, logged 260,000 volunteer hours, impacted 63,000 people, and generated over $40 million in economic activity. ACE is currently established on over 50 post-secondary campuses across Canada.

Contact:
Jaime Szegvary
Communications Consultant, ACE
416.619.8994
jaime@acecanada.ca     

Maura Casey
Project Manager, SIFE St. FX
709.795.7825
x2008llf@stfx.ca

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