News

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 University College officially installed Dr. Richard Myers as our seventh principal this past Sunday with a short ceremony and reception that included speakers from UWaterloo, Huron University College, and the other Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo.

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 has become a Silver pledging member with Sustainable Waterloo Region’s Regional Carbon Initiative, which means the College commits to reducing emissions by 40 percent over the next 10 years. It had previously been an observing member for two and a half years. 

Sustainable Waterloo Region is an organization that facilitates target-setting and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.