Each year Strong Mortgages Ltd. and the Strong family love to share and connect our friends, family, clients, colleagues and neighbours with things we love and are involved with. This year’s holiday gift included products made and sold by young Canadian Entrepreneurs who completed the PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs (PYE) program.
It is my honour to introduce you to:
ISHAAN’S CUSTOM SIGNS
e: dhaliwalishaan2011@gmail.com
PowerPlay School: Hazelgrove Elementary, Surrey BC
Student: Ishaan Dhaliwal, 12
Charity: SPCA and various shelters
Ishaan Dhaliwal loved woodworking from a very young age with his grandfather operating a furniture business. He loves the hands-on work from measuring, cutting, and sanding wood and now sells his signs at various hockey tournaments and markets. For Strong Mortgages, he created red Strong & Free coasters.
What they loved most about participating in PowerPlay: Customer service, creating a product and making money.
What they love most about the product: The wood signs are unique with slogans targeting all age groups.
NOTEWELL NOTEBOOKS
e: notewell.notebools@gmail.com
insta: note_wellnotebooks
PowerPlay School: Cloverdale Traditional School
Student: Pari Soni, 13.
Charity: Their school, Cloverdale Traditional School
Pari ads a fun twist to her customizable notewell notebooks. You can find her on instgram selling her mini notebooks.
What they loved most about participating in PowerPlay: The hands-on experience of creating, selling and growing my business.
What do they love most about their product: I love the way they look after they are in the packaging and labeled with my business name.
GATOR DESIGNS
w: https://www.gatordesigns.ca
e: Designsbygators@gmail.com
PowerPlay School: Gretna Green School in Miramichi, New Brunswick
Students: aged 11 to 13
Business Product(s): create a wide range of products from earrings to sweatshirts using a glowforge laser and vinyl cutter. For Strong Mortgages, over 70 students collectively created and produced frosted Strong & Free ornaments.
Charity: local food bank
Students grade 6 through 8 at Gretna Green school participate in the PowerPlay program and create products including but not limited to: clothing, keychains, earrings, bracelets, jibbitz, cutting boards, barbecue scrapers, and other holiday specials. They develop products using sublimation, heat press, and vinyl cutting.
What they loved most about participating in PowerPlay: Students like learning new skills that they can use when they get their first job. Students learn to take money at markets, create graphic designs, complete production, and monitor quality control. They have control over what they want to purchase with the profits. Currently, we are saving to buy more computers for graphic designs and more materials and equipment to enrich our workroom.
What they love most about their product: The students love making money and having a say in how that money is spent. They get to order materials for passion projects. They like getting trained for new tasks that include graphic design, using equipment and how to make and send invoices. Authentic work and projects make the learning fun.
ABOUT POWERPLAY YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
Whether students aim to be entrepreneurs, or simply want to chase their dreams and develop new skills, our PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs program provides various opportunities for authentic learning and exploration in a real-world context. The in-school program is a 6-week initiative that allows students from grades 4 through 8 to develop their own business ventures, set and achieve goals, and gain practical life skills. They put their plans into action at the Young Entrepreneur Show, a dynamic event where they interact with customers and earn money.
We are committed to adaptability and inclusivity so all students can thrive regardless of their diverse learning styles, socioeconomic position, or background. In addition to building new competencies, the youth also give back to their local communities and the social causes that they care about.
