News Article

The saying “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day – teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime” is as true today as ever. In fact, it has also been the philosophical foundation of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Clarenville in each of the team’s projects this year. The team will be highlighting how this philosophy has contributed to the success of their projects May 7-9 at the Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) National Exhibition in Calgary, Alberta.

Competition is expected to be stiff with over 50 SIFE teams from across Canada participating. Newfoundland & Labrador will be represented by teams from College of the North Atlantic (CNA) and Memorial University. 

Seven of SIFE Clarenville’s team members will make presentations in two divisions – entrepreneurship and financial literacy during the three-day event.  Deidra Strowbridge, the team’s primary advisor, has been working hard with the team to complete the projects and develop a tight 20-minute presentation that clearly outlines the impact of the team’s work to a panel of high profile judges. 

“Our provincial teams are very strong, each with great projects that have each had a measurable positive impact on the lives of many people in our province,” says Paul Tilley, one of the team’s advisors. “Based on the feedback that we received at the Atlantic Regional competition in March we are hoping to do well.”

SIFE Clarenville will be focusing its presentations on a number of their major projects. The first, Let’s Can Hunger – Immediate and Long-term Hunger Relief, addresses the challenges faced by families experiencing financial difficulties due to major housing shortages, skyrocketing rental and housing costs, and an overall increase in the cost of living due to major project such as the Hebron Project at Bull Arm, North Atlantic Refinery’s re-development, and VALE’s nickel smelter in Long Harbour. Their work increased understanding of hunger awareness in their community, impacted over 4,000 people and helped raise over 10,000 pounds of food.

“My first visit to the food bank had a profound effect on me,” says Project Leader Sherrell Penney. “During this visit I was shown what a family in need experiences. Our food bank is only open once a month, and once a family is inside they are told what items they can choose from - this could be a can of spaghetti or a can of Ravioli – which is expected to be a meal for a family of four.”

The second project built on the success of the 2010 SIFE Clarenville project Let’s Get Social. The aim was simple – highlight events and businesses that contribute to winter activities in Clarenville, and measure the impact of this campaign on those business partners through the realm of Social Media. The initiative was a resounding success – overall there were 67,106 Facebook impressions and 1,750 view of their video blogs.  Through feedback from Phase I, it became evident that businesses wanted to use social media and they saw the benefit, but did not have the training required, which was implemented this year. Phase II of the project saw students instructing local businesses in the skills needed to set up and use various Social Media platforms efficiently and effectively on their own. 

Their next project deals with financial education. In an age where education has become very highly valued, many people describe themselves as being relatively financially illiterate. Financial Education has become a major theme of several SIFE Clarenville projects this year. Through various partnerships with local and government organizations – including CNA, SIFE Clarenville worked with over many people from children, to skilled trades students to seniors, to teach them about them basic financial skills.

Finally, SIFE Clarenville addressed environmental awareness. The concept of developing a Community Garden emerged from team meetings with the local Business Advisory Board.  The concept was to develop a plan for a community garden that would encourage healthy eating, educate participants to the benefits of growing their own food and then teach participants how to grow food. Partnering with Random Age Friendly and working with the CNA Carpentry students, the team has developed the plan to build growing trays in which people could grow some of their own food.

According to Tracy Holloway, another of SIFE Clarenville’s Advisors, leadership skills, team building, organizational skills and networking skills are just some of the benefits offered by the SIFE program.
“Students grow in the program and we have seen some fantastic leaders emerge through it,” says Holloway. “The competitions at the regional and national ACE exhibitions also help develop strong presentation skills – and these are the skills that employers what to see in our graduates.”


Media Contact:
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Assistant
College of the North Atlantic
Ph: 709-643-6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca