Toronto, ON (Tuesday, March 9, 2010) – BCIT’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.

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 BCIT stood out to the judges because of their dedication to providing entrepreneurial programming to Canadian Armed Force reservists as well as budding entrepreneurs and artists on the downtown eastside of Vancouver. The team is currently operating three projects, all at no cost to participants:

• Honour House - provides reservists with the opportunity to receive academic credit for their military training, small-business consultation and success skill training. It’s currently the only program of its kind in Canada.
• Lions Liar - provides aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills to develop their business through workshops and one-on-one mentorship. The team has partnered with EMBERS to identify entrepreneurs in downtown eastside as well as has already delivered over 300 volunteer hours of workshops and mentorship.
• Empower - provides benefits to many marginalized women artisans on the downtown eastside involved with Enterprising Women Making Art (EWMA). So far three artisans developed their talents into profitable businesses.

"It is the ultimate compliment to be recognized as a Regional Champion in Western Canada,” comments SIFE BCIT President, Brent Charleton. “This award represents the dedication and passion of each of our members and the meaningful impact that each are making in the greater Vancouver area."

The end goal of this annual challenge is for SIFE teams to provide guidance and mentorship to aspiring entrepreneurs as well as work directly with local businesses to help improve their operations, profitability, and job creation. Teams have been provided the necessary tools and training from ACE to develop and implement their extensive projects to help others. The BCIT team will now move on to the national level of competition taking place in Calgary on May 10th to 12th.

“We know how important it is to build a foundation of leadership and entrepreneurial skills at a young age,” explains Paul Douglas, Executive Vice President, TD Business Banking. “Through the TD SIFE Entrepreneurship challenge, we can play a role in growing the next leaders of Canadian businesses.”

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      

Brent Charleton
President, SIFE BCIT
778-378-9616
bcharleton5@gmail.com

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