News

Six GreenHouse social ventures received a total of $13,000 at the latest Social Impact Showcase, which highlights the work of each term’s innovators.

St. Paul’s GreenHouse held its Winter Social Impact Showcase recently, announcing the winners of the Big Ideas Challenge and the recipients of the Social Impact Fund, as well as celebrating the successes of past Social Impact Fund recipients such as Richard Yim of Landmine Boys and Tina Chan of PASS.

Marlena Books, a St. Paul's GreenHouse startup, won one of four big $25,000 Velocity Fund prizes up for grabs at the most recent competition. 

Marlena Books is a venture that was created by Rachel Thompson to help people with dementia and Alzheimer's keep mentally active through reading materials made specifically for them. 

Three St. Paul’s GreenHouse innovators received Social Impact Fund grants totaling $5,000 at the most recent GreenHouse Social Impact Showcase event, which highlights the progress of various social innovators every term.

Alumna Rachel Thompson, founder of Marlena Books, also spoke about making an impact through social entrepreneurship. Her social venture, which is producing specialized reading material for older adults with dementia, has been successful in winning support from long-term care homes and funding from several organizations.

Two St. Paul’s GreenHouse social ventures, Curiato and Eggplantr, won funding at the most recent Velocity Fund finals. The Velocity Fund awards $375,000 annually to local startups.

St. Paul’s GreenHouse alumna Rachel Thompson has 30 long-term care homes interested in a product she’s been developing for about a year: A series of books aimed at providing meaningful leisure and cognitive stimulation to individuals with dementia through reading.

Several St. Paul’s GreenHouse students received Social Impact Fund grants at the most recent Social Impact Showcase, held in Alumni Hall. All of the recipients were GreenHouse Fellows, winners of Big Ideas Challenge for Social Good whose GreenHouse accommodations were funded by the Libro Prosperity Fund.

St. Paul’s GreenHouse Fellow Richard Yim and his social-purpose startup, The Landmine Boys, have received $5,000 in funding from the Canadian Landmine Foundation (CLMF), a national organization based in Waterloo with a mission to raise awareness and funds to end the human and economic suffering caused by landmines.

Bedsores are the number one hospital-induced illness, affect more than three million people, and cost an average annual cost of approximately $40,000 per patient to treat. More than 90 percent of patients over the age of 65 with Alzheimer’s or dementia have bedsores.

St. Paul’s University College is pleased to announce that political scientist Richard Myers has been appointed Principal for a five-year term as of July 2016.