Local Community Advertising
It's the kind of thing that makes you feel a little better about our future. A group of innovative students at Okanagan Mission Secondary created a non-profit, sustainable cafe that not only serves beverages and food but also raises money for important causes in the community. We spoke to the young social entrepreneurs at Mission Roots Coffee before it closed for the summer.
The effort appealed to a panel of entrepreneurs and earned top honours at the iGen 2019 finals. It's a competition that celebrates innovation and social enterprise.
Customers at Mission Roots are given choices about which cause they prefer to support with each purchase. Despite being open just 40 minutes each day, the shop raised over $6,000. Co-founder Lauren Moody was a driving force behind it. "We wanted to show kids the connection between their choices," she said, "and the impact they can have." "I originally had to be convinced to do this," said Co-founder Angelica Phelan. "I wanted to do a compost system. I couldn't see how this could be a possible thing, but my friends eventually convinced me. And now I'm so glad I did it."
Co-founder Summer Sharma said they knew there was a demand for the idea at the school. "We wanted to provide breakfast to students," said Sharma."We wanted to provide something better than some vending machine things."
There are hopes to expand the concept to schools across the country.
Local Community Advertising