Are you in High School? Do you suppose you might be able to create positive change in the universe? Looking for an opportunity to be heard?

Well, we’re listening. Join us in April and we’ll help accelerate your solution(s) to social problems.

THE EVENT:

Accelerating: Empathy brings together high school students from across the Province who aspire to be leaders of social change to take part in the best experiential educational environment available to them.

Participants are challenged to devise a solution to a timely social issue of their choosing and make a pitch to other participating students. The ideas that receive the most votes will be furthered by teams of 8-10 students over a period of 30 hours.

In order for tomorrow’s leaders of social change to learn, they must do.

The Details:

When – April 4th and 5th, 2013
Where – World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax
Who – Nova Scotian High School student

THE PARTICIPANTS (THAT’S YOU!):

Good ideas need great teams, and that’s what we’ll foster at Accelerating: Empathy. With only 60 seconds to pitch their ideas, participants will have to be clever, and get the most out of each second in order to attract votes and other participants to their team. You must be adaptable, open-minded, and unafraid to make mistakes!

Registration:

Registration is free and easy (what more could you ask for?). Click the button below and you’ll be asked a few details about yourself and you can reserve a spot – and yes, registration is limited; first come, first serve!

THE EMPATHY FACTORY (THAT’S US!):

We empower youth to take action and to make the world a better place. The Empathy Factory was founded on the belief that by instilling empathy in our youth, injustices will be stopped, communities transformed and hope inspired. For more information, contact Event Manager, Genevieve Allen by email at: genevieve@empathyfactory.com

The purpose of Enterprising: Empathy is to instill a sense of empathy and compassion through the practice of social entrepreneurship. Students are learning the skills required to start and run a business, and framing their ideas through a philanthropic/social-good lens.

Today we’re working with the students in the Youth Pathways and Transition (YPT) program that’s held at the Quinpool Education Centre. In the spirit of the fast-approaching holiday season, the students have decided to make and sell festive wreaths and donate 100% of their proceeds to the Lodge that Gives (an adjunct of the Canadian Cancer Society).

They’ve named their social enterprise, “Bigger than Bill$” as their message is that while they are running a business, the goal goes far beyond the profit; it’s all about the cause.

The savvy marketers they are, YPT developed a tag line that you won’t soon forget:

“Wreaths for a Reason; Bringing Joy to the Season”

I’ve purchased two wreaths, and if you’d like to do the same, let me know and I’ll take your order to them ($20 apiece).

I’ll keep the updates coming.

Yours,
Blair

I felt awesome we could do stuff for the community. Everyone was taking turns and cooperating with each other. Everybody had a job, we were all busy for most of the day.

Author: Braedon

Felt amazing that having people have fun helped save lives. Amazing how our class came together to help the community and all the work we did working as a team.

Author: Dylan

I liked the experience of selling stuff because people said thank you and I knew I had made them happy.

Author: Sylvanna

It felt good knowing we were helping people at the hospital and feeding families.

Author: Makenna

The experience was very fun, getting prepared with the phone calls, organizing and promoting was really fun.

Author: Jarod

The whole experience was fun. Seeing everyone come together as a community was cool.

Author: Khloe
I thought it was cool a bunch of people let 6th graders was their car.

In February I was approached by Blair and Stefanie with the opportunity to run their in-school program for Mr. Terry Williams grade 6 class at the Central Spryfield Elementary School. During the following two and a half months I spent an hour weekly working with the class organizing a Car Wash and Fun Fair event at the school. On May 12th, hundreds of locals came out in support of The Pheonix House, IWK Foundation, and The Empathy Factory purchasing hats donated by Steven Adams (area counsellor), donated baked goods, playing games and having the students and Scotiabank volunteers wash their cars. During the weeks leading up to the event, and during the day food donations for the Parker Street Food Bank were collected. By the end of the event the students raised an amazing $979 dollars while collecting five boxes of food. NorthWest Arm branch of Scotiabank has committed to matching the donations received meaning the impact the students created is $1958.00.

During the time spent in the classroom it was amazing to watch the students work on and develop skills I could only dream of having learned at such a young age. The students made cold calls for donations to local organizations including Heppies Bakery, Subway, and Canadian Tire to name a few. Preparing all the Bristol board posters, placing flyers in local community centers and bulletin boards and coming out to run the event was all part of the process. By day’s end the students were amazed at how much their hard work in organizing and successfully running the event paid off. Thank you to The Empathy Factory for the opportunity to participate with such an amazing initiative. I look forward to working with you in future classrooms and events around Nova Scotia.

It is because yoga is so universal in meaning, and positive in feeling that we couldn’t be more excited about our third annual fundraising event; Breathing: Empathy.

Yoga lets you tune in, chill out, shape up — all at the same time.

The Empathy Factory is teaming up with Breathing Space Yoga Studio. Together we will help people of all ages discover empathy through the practice of yoga.

Here’s the Breathing: Empathy challenge:

At 1:08pm on Saturday, October 5, 2013 we will share in the practice of sun salutations, partner yoga and many great forms of meditation to nourish the mind and reduce stress.

Participants are asked to raise $108 in pledges.

Registration – $10

All proceeds from this event will support our in school programming. We visit schools throughout Nova Scotia and deliver workshops on the value of empathy, volunteering, philanthropy, and related topics to children aged 8 – 18. Our methods and subject matter break new grounds and engage students in ways that open their eyes and hearts.

Join us and help change lives; yours and our youth.

Coming September 2012                         

It is because yoga is so universal in meaning, and positive in feeling that we couldn’t be more excited about our second annual fundraising event; Breathing: Empathy.

Yoga lets you tune in, chill out, shape up — all at the same time.

The Empathy Factory is teaming up with Breathing Space Yoga Studio in Bedford. Together we will help people of all ages discover empathy through the practice of yoga.

Here’s the Breathing: Empathy challenge:

At 1:08pm on Saturday September 15, 2012 we will share in the practice of 108 sun salutations, practice partner yoga and experience forms of meditation to nourish the mind and reduce stress.

Participants are asked to raise $108 in pledges.

Registration – $10

All proceeds from this event will support our in school programming. We visit schools throughout Nova Scotia and deliver workshops on the value of empathy, volunteering, philanthropy, and related topics to children aged 8 – 18. Our methods and subject matter break new grounds and engage students in ways that open their eyes and hearts.

Join us and help change lives; yours and our youth.

Proudly Supported By:

April 25, 2012

Two-day event inspires and empowers youth to solve social problems. Accelerating: Empathy sped the process of positive social change this week.

Over the course of days – April 23rd and 24th – the Empathy Factory hosted high school students from around the Province at the World Trade and Convention Center. The event, Accelerating: Empathy, saw the teens work together to devise solutions to four of Nova Scotia’s most auspicious social problems:

1. Childhood Obesity
2. Stigmas and Learning Disabilities
3. Bullying
4. Homelessness

On the first day, students – representing 8 different high schools – each had 60 seconds to pitch a solution to one of the above problems. The top two ideas, as voted by their peers, in each topic were taken through the remainder of the event and furthered by teams of students with the help of mentors and subject matter experts.

In the end, each team was given three minutes to re-pitch their now-refined ideas for social change. A winning team was chosen in each topic by a panel of judges that included high profile members from the not-for-profit, academic, philanthropic, and business communities.

With roughly 100 people present to watch the final pitches, the students were pushed far from their comfort zones as was the theme of the entire event. The Empathy Factory believes that children learn best in environments where their creativity is fostered, where they are forced to take chances, and where social and emotional intelligence are held equal with academic abilities.

The winning ideas, in brief:

Homelessness: Topic Sponsored by Acadia University

Base Y

Base Y is a conceptual easy-access information and resource ‘hub’ for homeless youth in Cole Harbour. At Base Y, homeless youth will find themselves in an environment where they are treated with compassion and empathy and given all of the tools that they need to be safe and to beat the cycle of poverty that landed them on the streets. Partnering with food banks, shelters, social workers, job skills organization and the like, Base Y will significantly help drop the level of homelessness among youth in Dartmouth/Cole Harbour.

Bullying: Topic Sponsored by the Gordon Foundation for Children and Youth

Scotia Circle

Combing two very diverse and under-utilized forms of communication, Scotia Circle will decrease the instance of bullying among Nova Scotia’s youth. Taking elements from Restorative Practices )specifically the concept of a ‘Healing Circle’ which is used to for team and consensus building, problem solving, and which enables a group to get to know each other, develop mutual respect, trust, and empathy) and combining them with the perception that spoken word can be used as a tool to inspire and create change.

Scotia Circle will consist of spoken word events (circles) hosted throughout the HRM. They will feature the people who have been bullies, the target of bullying, and/or by-standers. It will allow these people to come together and heal through the alliterated prose and verse used to express their feelings and social commentary. These circles will have people speak in the first person, and address their position in the bullying cycle safely and with confidence.

Childhood Obesity: Topic Sponsored by Mount Saint Vincent University

EnlighTEENment

Based on the notion that fitness and wellbeing need not be seen as a chore, rather they can be fun and inclusive, EnlighTEENment aims to engage and enlighten youth in the HRM through social media.

EnlighTEENment will host a website through which participants would have all the resources necessary to take control of their health and wellness. That is, there would be daily exercises, meal plans, recipes for healthy snacks, motivational songs, sayings, and blogs.

The program would be run through participating schools, and could be used as school credit and to win prizes. The program will kick off with a 30 day ‘challenge’ that will serve as a pilot for what stands to be a much larger project.

“Motivation over Procrastination will lead to a Generation of Participation”

Stigmas and Learning Disabilities: Topic Sponsored by Saint Mary’s University

Oxford Learning I.D.E.A.S.

To address the many dangerous stigmas that those who suffer from learning disabilities must face on a daily basis, Oxford Learning I.D.E.A.S. has started a program – through Oxford Learning – that will see teenagers (both with and without learning disabilities) volunteer to work in schools with upper elementary students to help educate them that people with LD’s are not better or worse than anyone else, they simply learn differently.

Through a series of ingenious exercises, the volunteers would show the youngsters that each and every one of them has different learning styles. They’ll put them in situations to learn in styles that fall out of their comfort zones and strengths. Auditory learners will be asked to learn visually, those who learn by ‘doing’ would be made to learn via lecture, and so on.

This allows the students the experience of ‘putting themselves in someone else’s shoes’ so to speak; they would learn to have empathy and compassion for learners of all types… thus minimizing (or eliminating) the stigmas that do so much harm to those with learning disabilities.

———-

All those involved with Accelerating: Empathy left inspired. They were inspired not only with the ideas, creativity, and resolve demonstrated by the students, but by the way the common goal of creating change brought together students, mentors, and community leaders so seamlessly for two full days of intense action.

For testimonials, lists of mentors and judges, and to learn more about the Empathy Factory please see appendices to follow.

For further information, interviews, or to connect with our participants:

Scott Blunden
Director of Marketing and Communications
Empathy Factory
(902) 455-2641
scott@empathyfactory.com

Mentors

Jennifer Berry, NSCC
Janet Zed, Ronald McDonald House Atlantic
Cynthia Watt, MSVU
Hannah Cavicchi, YMCA
Tim Vassallo, CEED
Claudia Jahn, Community Action on Homelessness
Ruth Fraser, Learning First
Lorelei Burgess, Oxford Learning
Wendy McCallum, Simple Balance Nutrition and Wellness
Andy Osburn, Equals6
Mila Milojevic, Norex
Meghan Swim, BrandWeb Marketing

Judges

Dr. Colin Dodds, President, Saint Mary’s University
Lil MacPherson, Founder/Owner Wooden Monkey
Jenny Kierstead, Founder/Owner Breathing Space Yoga
Dr. Paul Bennett, Principal, Schoolhouse Consulting
Matt Whitman, ‘King of Networking’
Stefanie Shute, President, Empathy Factory
Melissa Ruginski, Branch Manager, Scotiabank
Shelley Richardson, Executive Director, Kids Help Phone

Overheard at Accelerating: Empathy

Students:

“I always thought that I could probably make change, but until now I didn’t see how.”

“It was weird, actually. They listened to me, and told me that I had great input.”

“We have the blueprint to erase childhood obesity.”

“Who knew I had anything to say that was good enough to be on Live at 5?”

“Alone I have courage, but together we’re bold!”

Mentors/Judges:

“Regardless of who has the best pitches, it’s the community who really wins at Accelerating: Empathy.”

“I was so impressed with how well organized it was, the caliber of the judging panel and sponsors, and the energy of the students. It was a truly inspiring event – and I am so happy to have been included.”

“I wish I were a participant at A:E!”

Teachers:

“See you next year for Accelerating: Empathy 2013… and every year forever. It was a great experience.”

“You’ll see all of my students next year. Get ready for us!”

“Now I can see how to better engage my kids; have them steer their learning.”

———————-

“Traditionally, the majority of our work has been with students grades 4-9, but because our vision is an entire generation of youth who live and lead with empathy, we saw the need to engage high school students. Accelerating: Empathy was borne of a notion that by empowering youth, pulling them from their comfort zones, and adding an element of competition, we could create instant and massive engagement.

I think we proved that notion right these last two days. Those of us who pulled the event together had no doubt we could create an environment of such great intensity and empowerment. And though we told the students as we recruited them, I don’t think they believed it until they got there and felt it.”

Blair Ryan
CEO, Empathy Factory

“We were so excited to provide this event because we see day in and day out that students have incredible ideas to solve problems. Often, however, they don’t act on these ideas, and that’s not for lack of time or talent, but it’s usually because they don’t feel they have a voice. Accelerating: Empathy was built to give them that voice.”

Stefanie Shute
President, Empathy Factory

Our group, we started off, by learning what Empathy is. I learned that Empathy is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and really caring for them and deciding what you can do about it. Our group made up a project that wanted to help the less fortunate. So, at school, that week we held a Loonie Drive, we raised $268. 60 for Kane’s Kitchen (a local soup kitchen). In the last week, we presented the cheque to them. I learned that it felt good to help out! I was very surprised that with a small group we could make a difference and raise that much money!

BACKGROUND

Between twenty and thirty percent of Canadians who are awaiting an organ die before they receive it. It has been proven that the vast majority of Canadians support organ donation, but less than 50% are in fact registered donors. To add to this, studies suggest that between 20% and 40% of eligible, registered donors do not ultimately donate their organs because they didn’t make their wishes known to their immediate family – Donation can take place only if the donor’s family has given consent at the time of death.

In the event that the prospective donor makes his or her desires known to their family, the chances that their wishes are respected increase to between 90% and 95%. The Empathy Factory works with youth to help them develop and use empathy to solve social problems. From among the dozens of projects we facilitate was borna campaign to save the lives of Canadians who are waiting for organs.

THE CAMPAIGN

Phone Home, Save a Life (PHSL) is a program that will facilitate the conversation about organ donation between university students across Canada and their loved ones at home.

PHSL aims to host an event at every university in the country. The events will encourage and engage students who are registered donors to phone home (for free) and express their wishes. In the event that a student is not registered, they will also be able to call and talk about what donation means to them and their family. They will have the opportunity to learn more about the topic, and sign up on the spot if that is their choice.

PHSL will bring their events to students, and host events that are engaging, eye-catching, and inspiring. We will help save lives by registering new donors, creating awareness, and facilitating important conversations.

The Empathy Factory came into my class last year and we all had so much fun! This year, I asked if the Empathy Factory could come to Bedford Junior High and I’m so excited because they said yes. They are coming tomorrow and it’s great because I have had my idea picked out since the summertime and I’ve added bits and pieces to it. It’s pretty funny because this will be the tenth time I’ve seen the presentation in almost a year because i was at Camp Empathy and i volunteer too. It’s really awesome because I can list the definition of empathy off the top of my head.