Okanagan youth activated
50
+
Young leaders engaged in hands-on social action and economic innovation each season.
Walk alongside passionate Okanagan youth as they turn the causes they care about into real, lasting community action.
First created in 2003 by Global Citizen Events, the SDC has been a Central Okanagan space for youth-led action to entertain, educate, and inspire around the UN Global Goals. Impact Toolbox joined in 2022, stepping into stewardship in 2026 alongside BEEM Credit Union.
Presented by
Legacy program of
In partnership with
Young leaders engaged in hands-on social action and economic innovation each season.
Local educators equipped with specialized tools, resources, and honourariums.
Direct resources awarded to youth-led teams to launch community-facing ventures.
Practical sessions bridging UN Sustainable Development Goals with real business modeling.
“I’d like you to know that this program is necessary not just for the good that it does for its recipients, but for the way it can affect the participants, mentors included.
Over five months, youth work in teams alongside supported local educators and mentors to move from initial ideas to launch-ready social ventures.
Mentor & cohort registration
Okanagan educators, youth workers, and community leaders…
Experiential learning & venture development
Youth are supported by…
Community celebration & Grand Finale
Finalist teams present and pitch their social enterprises. It’s a time for community leaders to listen, celebrate, and invest a total of $10,000 in seed awards (up to $5,000 per project) for winning youth initiatives.
Delivered on an easy-to-use online platform, each 60-minute lesson blends short videos with reflective, hands-on activities that guide youth step-by-step:
Understanding the social entrepreneurial journey and discovering how business models can serve human well-being.
Exploring the UN Sustinable Development Goals as a framework for local community change
Looking beneath symptoms to understand the root causes and systems holding community challenges in place.
Brainstorming community-centreed approaches rooted in lived experience and local wisdom.
Testing early ideas with the people they serve to build real relevance and value.
Integrating social impact metrics with fair, self-sustaining financial models.
Mapping practical implementation steps, resource management, and simple financial forecasts.
Communicating vision with clarity and authenticity to inspire community support.
We walk alongside both young people taking their first step into social action and the educators who support them.
We honour the care, time, and wisdom you bring to youth leadership. We wrap around teachers to make embedding social entrepreneurship seamless.
Whether in a classroom or a community group, the SDC gives youth practice making decisions, trusting their own thinking, and turning passion into real solutions.
When young people have support, mentorship, and belief behind them, classroom ideas transform into lasting local ventures. A few highlights:
2025 SDC Grande Finale Winner
The Problem: Books that could find second lives are heading to Okanagan landfills every year.
The Solution: Students at Enactus Okanagan College designed a circular economy business model—converting recycled books into beeswax-coated Firebricks that burn longer than firewood.
The Outcome: Now an active Okanagan business with distribution through Canadian Tire and Rona Canada, and a mechanized manufacturing warehouse to keep up with demand.
2023 SDC Grande Finale Winner
The Problem: The Okanagan’s native plants are disappearing, affecting community resilience against climate change.
The Solution: Youth developed a three-stage approach: (1) Raise community awareness, (2) Sell student-developed eco-friendly products, and (3) Use funds to plant “mini forests”, dense groups of native species that restore local ecosystems and improve air and water quality.
The Outcome: Now supported by Kelowna City Council to expand the initiative and continue “rewilding Kelowna”.
Finalist
Addresses food insecurity in post-secondary by offering affordable plant-based meals, and has built a model designed to scale to universities across Canada.
Finalist
Organizes local hairdressers to offer free haircuts to neighbours experiencing unhoused conditions, returning dignity and care.
Finalist
Advocated successfully for humane alternatives to physical animal dissection in school district science classrooms, and moved school district policy toward more accessible science classrooms.
Finalist
Offers free period products in public spaces, funded through local business advertising space on the packaging.
Finalist
Takes on the “Us vs. Them” stigma around homelessness through a human-centred sponsorship program that builds one-on-one connection.
Finalist
Built a network of textile donation bins inside local apartment buildings, streamlining donations and diverting clothing waste from landfills.
The SDC is a multi-month experiential learning program for Okanagan youth ages 13–24. It combines online learning, hands-on mentorship, and project development to help young people design, test, and launch real-world solutions that address local community needs.
The program, including access to the online Learning Hub, classroom support, and mentorship, is completely free for youth, educators, and community groups.
No. The program is designed to guide youth step-by-step—from identifying root causes of community problems to brainstorming innovative solutions and building a business model.
Any young person aged 13–24 in the Okanagan region can participate as part of a school team, post-secondary group, or community team.
Okanagan educators, high school teachers, post-secondary instructors, youth workers, and community leaders who support youth ages 13–24 can register.
Mentors guide student cohorts through our 8-lesson curriculum via the online Learning Hub. To make integration seamless, the Impact Toolbox team provides bite-sized lesson plans, activity templates, and direct in-classroom visits to support your students.
We offer a $500 stipend to participating educators and mentors to recognize their leadership, time, and dedication in facilitating student cohorts through the program.
Finalist teams at the Grand Finale showcase have the opportunity to present their projects to community leaders and compete for a share of $10,000 in direct seed awards, with up to $5,000 available per winning project.
Participants gain practical skills in social entrepreneurship, critical thinking, budgeting, and public pitching. They also receive direct guidance from local business and community experts, building networks and confidence to make a lasting local impact.
Community organizations can partner with the SDC by sponsoring student seed awards, funding mentor stipends, or contributing expert volunteers to mentor teams during Phase 2.
Bring experiential social entrepreneurship into your classroom or youth program.
Sponsor seed awards and mentor stipends to support Okanagan youth leaders.
Have an idea or want to build a solution for your community? See how you can join the SDC journey.