Social Entrepreneurs Program

If you have business expertise, have at least 1 hour every two weeks available to volunteer your time and want to give back - then a volunteer business mentor or an associate volunteer business mentor with the OCSB may be just the thing for you.

If this program is of interest to you - and you'd like to be considered as a Volunteer Business Mentor OR if you want to be considered as an Associate Volunteer Business Mentor then please complete the following form. Once complete - someone from the school board will be in touch and try to align your interests and experience with a teacher from one of the Ottawa schools.

If you have more questions don't hesitate to contact Richard White at 613-858-9568 cell, white.richardwayne@gmail.com

What is a Volunteer Business Mentor

The role is incredibly rewarding as you help young and eager students, with the support of their educators(s) learn business through the creation of a product or service within a social enterprise.

The program engages kids in building a social enterprise.... they research social issues, identify a social cause, select charities, build products or create services that they can deliver and learn the basics of business through doing. Sales, marketing, organization, product development, service delivery, seed funding...

They may learn how to build and administer a Shopify website, write blogs, tweet their progress, run customer focus groups, raise and track money, deliver an elevator pitch, collaborate, communicate & organize, create video games, edit videos or program 3D printers. There is something for every kid and you'll find their engagement is infectious.

The school board uses the google suite of applications so you'll likely learn these tools if you are not familiar with them already. In addition you may learn how to use Shopify and other tools such as 3D printing, develop basic coding using Scratch or video editing using ScreenCastify - perhaps you will find the learning personally valuable - but the real reward will be working with kids and seeing them turned onto entrepreneurship. That’s empowering!

The time commitment is a flexible 1 hr per week or every 2 weeks and much of the engagement can be delivered in a hybrid of in-class and video conferencing.

If you have the interest in becoming a business mentor - know that you will be supported with a rich framework of content and enthusiastic educators and a network of other business mentors.

As a mentor - it’s really true - you will get back much more than you give! You won’t regret it!

Role of a Volunteer Business Mentor

Expert: Share skills, knowledge, and expertise;
Role Model: Have a positive attitude and act as a positive role model;
Sherpa: Offer guidance and constructive feedback;
Helper: Help students solve their own problem, rather than give direction;
Advisor/Coach: provide advice, guidance, and feedback; share your experience and expertise as appropriate; act as a sounding board for ideas and action plans;
Champion/Cheerleader: offer encouragement and support to try new things; help students move out their comfort zones; celebrate successes; help students understand when things do not go as planned;
Connector: identify contacts & resources that can assist;
Truth-sayer: provide feedback that students need to hear in order to move forward; push students to take risks when appropriate; help students consider and weigh potential consequences of decisions and actions to avoid the pitfalls and predictable surprises that may occur.

Tips in your Partnership with the Educator:

Maintain effective & regular communication with each other throughout the year
Establish a schedule of planned meetings with students and agree on an agenda for each meeting in advance
Openly discuss roles and delegation of responsibilities

What is the "Associate" Volunteer Business Mentor?

An associate volunteer business mentor supports the volunteer business mentor and educator and generally will have specific expertise in one area such as programming, website design, 3D printing, video editing. The associate may support one or more SEP schools and is best used when SEP classes breakout into specific groups that focus on certain aspects. Associates can be provided with Google meet video conferencing links specific to the breakout groups. This allows the educator and the volunteer business mentor to break the students into several working groups and know that students are supported with facilitation.

Questions and Answers

Q: Who are you mentoring?

A: Students within a class. Classes could range from grades K-12

Q: What is your relationship/role with the educator?

A: It is a partnership with the educator, where you bring your expertise of business and the educator brings their expertise as an educator.

Q: What is the time commitment?

A: While the educator will likely work with students throughout the week, you should anticipate about one hour per or every second week where you are involved working with the students as a mentor.

Q: When am I expected to participate?

A: The program is delivered during school hours.

Q: Is it flexible?

A: Generally, the educator has some flexibility to schedule your involvement with the students, but it will be constrained to the times that the educator is scheduled to meet with their students. Discuss with your assigned educator dates and times that work for you both and agree to a schedule.

Q: Is my participation expected to be in-class or virtual?

A: It can be any combination of virtual or in-class. Discuss with your assigned educator what works best.

Q: What is Deep Learning?

A: Deep learning is the process of acquiring the six global competencies.

Q: What are the six global competencies (The 6 C’s)::

A: Citizenship, Character, Communication, Critical thinking, Collaboration, Creativity

Q: What skills/background are you seeking for the Volunteer Business Mentor role?

A: We are looking for volunteers with a background in business and entrepreneurship.

Q: Is there a role for college or university students?

A: Absolutely, we are also seeking out Associate Volunteer Business Mentors who will assist in breakout groups.

Complete the Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC)

*Note: For volunteers that are returning, please ensure you have completed the annual Offence Declaration which would have been sent to you a year after completing the application.

If you didn't receive it already - or you didn't complete it, then you will need to get a new VSC following the same instructions as a new application.

In order to go to a class in-person, mentors will be required to submit a Level 3 - Vulnerable Sector Check (Level 3 VSC). Mentors need a current (within 6 months) Level 3 VSC from Ottawa Police. VSCs are free with a VSC request letter.

Please note that this is required for both:

on-site volunteers and
volunteers who will be engaged in virtual video conferences with students when an educator is not present

To obtain your Level 3 VSC please:

once assigned to a school, we will send you a VSC Request Letter which is needed in order to complete your VSC on-line application
if you have not received this letter when ready to apply then contact Kim Lacelle or Richard White
Apply online for your records check from the OPS to complete your application
upon receiving your VSC, please submit it in the OCSB Volunteer Application and select "OCSB Social Entrepreneurs Program (SEP)" in the drop down menu for school selection.

When entering a school:

The office is your first stop.
Sign in and the Office Administrator will assist you with the protocols before you go to the classroom.

Proof of Vaccination

In-class volunteers may also be required to show proof of vaccination.

Richard White - Volunteer Mentor Coordinator

Testimonial

"We're teaching kids that being a good entrepreneur means helping others while you earn a living, and that giving back to your community and planet are an essential part of being in business. Participating in this program has been one of the best things I've ever done - we all get busy....but there's no better mental health practice that I do that tops how I feel after a session with the bright young minds that will one day run the future business community."

Gavin Mosely

Page updated

Report abuse