Toronto, ON (Tuesday, March 9, 2010) – Brandon University’s “Students In Free Enterprise” or SIFE team has been named the 2010 TD SIFE Entrepreneurship Challenge Regional Champion by national charitable organization Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) and proud program supporter TD. The SIFE Brandon team managed to take home two Regional Champion titles – also being named a Regional Champion for the SIFE Green Challenge.

All Western based SIFE teams were judged by live panels of business professionals, and regional champions were announced on Friday March 5th in Calgary at the 2010 ACE Western Canada Regional Exposition.

The SIFE team from Brandon stood out to the judges because of their dedication to community members including aspiring entrepreneurs, current business owners, low income families and children age 9 to 12. The team was able to reach these audiences through the outreach projects they have implemented over the past year, at no cost to participants. Highlights include:

• The Agriculture Competition - teaches the fundamentals of a business plan and introduces agriculture as a viable career option to high school students at three local schools. This competition has impacted over 75 students and has been incorporated into Brandon high school curriculum. 
• Green Futures – will provide organic produce for the families of the east end community as well as provides children, ages 9 to 12, with hands-on environmental learning experience. With operation beginning in May, Green Futures will provide fresh produce for over 70 families and generate over $52,000 in economic opportunity.

“As a member of SIFE Brandon I am able to give back to my community and truly see the impact that our team is having on our local community through the implementation of our projects,” explains Chad McNish. “Having our efforts recognized and knowing we are making a difference has only made us more dedicated to work hard and achieve our goals.”

Teams have been provided the necessary tools and training from ACE to develop and implement their extensive projects to help others. The SIFE Brandon team will now move on to the national level of competition, in both categories, taking place in Calgary on May 10th to 12th.

“The SIFE Brandon team’s efforts are a great example of the entrepreneurship movement and environmental movement our students are leading across this country,” explains ACE President, Amy Harder. “I would like to thank TD in particular for supporting our entrepreneurship initiative nationally, without their support our students would not have the tools needed to lead these projects.”

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      

Chad McNish
SIFE Brandon
204.720.5372
chadmcnish@yahoo.ca

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