UPDATE: In a recent article in SEE Change Magazine, Cynthia Ross (SHSC) and Hadley Nelles (SIG@MaRS) go in-depth on the School of Social Entrepreneurs – Ontario (SSE-O). They talk about the emerging needs of social entrepreneurs, what is SSE-O, how it benefits our local communities, why Ontario needs SEE-O, and the goals and objectives of the program.

Click here to read the SEE Change Magazine article.

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ORIGINAL BLOG:
Exiting news! If you’ve been wondering what the Social Innovation & Partnership team at SHSC have been up to, here’s a taste of what’s in the works. Of course, all of our initiatives support SHSC’s expanded role described in Bill 140, the Housing Services Act, to improve the quality of life for low and moderate income Ontario residents and make sure that all our programs and services have tenant engagement and innovative products and services for tenants as a big piece.

So … where to start?

We’ve got some major system changing projects to benefit the housing sector happening and can’t wait to tell you a bit about how we’re partnering with others to bring the Social Entrepreneurs UK model to Canada. This amazing and proven action learning model started in the Housing Estates in the UK in 1997 and now has a network that spans the UK, New Zealand and Australia.

Since 2010, we’ve been part of a new collaborative – the School of Social Entrepreneurs Ontario Collaborative (SSE-O). We are thrilled to be part of this group of change agents that includes SHSC, SiG@Mars, ACCESS Community Capital Fund (ACCESS) and Social & Enterprise Innovations (SEDI). Our role is to provide outreach and connections to the housing sector, make sure that low-income residents are a big part of the cohort, the location is accessible and that the curriculum is relevant. Collectively, we are aiming to bring the first School of Social Entrepreneurs franchise to Ontario in 2012 and are currently developing our business plan.

Things are moving ahead quickly and one of our collaborative members from SiG@MaRS recently traveled to the UK to check out how the SSE-UK works. Read about her experience and stay tuned for new developments.

We’d like to hear from you!

So now that you’ve heard a bit about the School for Social Entrepreneurs and how it works to develop talent in the housing sector; send us stories about the innovative, people powered solutions you are working on and we’ll spread the word! Stay tuned for how you can get involved in the SSE-O by being a mentor, a witness and sponsor for students!

Yours, until next time

Cynthia@SHSC

The amount of free federal dollars left behind because no one knows about the Canada Learning Bond for low-income families makes no sense! Across Ontario there are 405,000 eligible families that don’t apply and in Toronto 78,000 families with incomes under $41,000 a year and children born after 2004 who could take advantage of the easy to access $2,000 nest egg for their child’s higher education. Part of the problem is that many bank employees, who play an important role in accessing the money, don’t know about the Bond.

How to Apply

All you need is a birth certificate, a social insurance number for your child and you can walk into a participating bank and open an RESP without depositing a cent. The bank then applies for the Canada Learning Bond on your child’s behalf. In fact the first $500 Canada Learning Bond Deposit also covers the $26 to start the RESP. After that – $100 a year is deposited into the RESP as the Canada Learning Bond until your child is 15 or the $2,000 max is reached. To see how easy it is go to the Omega Foundation’s Smart Saver website that includes info in seven languages.

Spread the Word!

Go figure – free money, a bond that starts saving for your child’s education at birth without you having to deposit a cent! But nobody’s talking. Maybe it should be automatic when you apply for a birth certificate or register your child for school or move into social housing? For policy insights on the value of the bond read Maytree’s take and read the CBC story. Let’s get the word out!!!