Enactus Saint Mary’s expand Square Roots Token Program before departure to Enactus World Cup

(Left to Right) King of Donair co-owner Nicholas Nahas; Basha Lebanese co-owner Chico Rashaydeh and his father, Khalas Rashaydeh; the Honourable Lena Metlege Diab; Saint Mary's University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray; Ray's Lebanese Cuisine owner Hady Bahliss; and Enactus Saint Mary's co-presidents Meredith Drost and Valerie Caswell. 

Enactus Saint Mary’s students are proving that business and social good can be one in the same. Enactus Saint Mary’s students created the Square Roots Token Program, which aims to help address food insecurity and reduce food waste in the province.

On Tuesday, September 19th, the newest restaurant to take part in their Square Roots Token Program was announced. King of Donair’s four locations on Quinpool Road, Lacewood Drive, Windmill Road and Sackville Drive, join pioneer restaurants Basha Lebanese on Inglis Street, Rys Mediterranean on Spring Garden Road, and Ray’s Lebanese Cuisine in Bayer’s Lake.

“I hate waste, especially when it comes to food which is why I was more than excited to join the Square Roots Token Program,” says Nicholas Nahas, co-owner of King of Donair. “I would love to see greater accessibility for the tokens and more businesses join so that food waste is not even a concern in the city. I believe in this the program and hope it succeeds not only as a business owner but as a graduate of Saint Mary's University.”

Two students holding the Square Roots tokens.

The program works by offering tokens for $5 which can be purchased and given to someone who is known or seen to be in need. The tokens are then redeemable by the recipient for a meal made from surplus food ingredients from partnering restaurants.

The announcement comes just ahead of the team’s departure for London, England, where they will pitch the Square Roots Token Program at the Enactus World Cup. The Enactus World Cup takes place from September 26-28, and will mark Enactus Saint Mary’s first time on the international stage.

“This is what we mean when we say Saint Mary’s students are citizens of the world,” says Saint Mary’s University President, Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “It’s thinking how your day-to-day work and activities, even while you’re a student, can have a beneficial impact on others outside the university, community and indeed around the world.”

Enactus is the largest student leadership organization in the world, striving to solve environmental, social and economic issues through entrepreneurial action. With over 150 students involved on campus, Enactus Saint Mary’s is one of the chapters leading the charge on the national, and soon to be, international scale.

“Our Square Roots Token Program began in April 2017 and we are so excited about the amazing response and support that we have received from our partnering restaurants in Nova Scotia,” says Meredith Drost, Co-President of Enactus. “It is truly inspiring to see the passion to reduce food waste in our own community from our customers and partners. Our team is also thrilled to have the opportunity share our program with the world when we travel to the Enactus World Exposition next week in London, England. We would not be here today without the amazing support of Saint Mary's University, the Sobey School of Business and the Business Development Centre.”

The Honourable Lena Metlege Diab attended the event today on behalf of Labour and Advanced Education Minister Labi Kousoulis to celebrate the program’s latest achievements.

"We all know that government alone does not have all the answers to the challenges we face. We have to look to the community and the private sector to find solutions. When this happens, we witness a powerful force for change,” says Ms. Metlege Diab.  "This new formula for success combines business acumen with social consciousness. It teaches us how human capital can be directed and best used. This will benefit our economy as a whole - and help us build a stronger Nova Scotia.”

As a show of support for the program, President Summerby-Murray said the University purchased 100 tokens to be delivered by the students to those in need. 

Retail Innovation Centre and Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market look to the future

Sobey School of Business student Drew Blair at The Shelf in the Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market

What will retail look like in 25 years?

By this fall, a new partnership aims to have a retail space in the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market offer a glimpse into that innovative future.

“Saint Mary’s University is committed to lifelong learning, supporting innovation and engaging with community, and this project, I am pleased to say, reflects all these commitments.”

— Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice President Academic and Research, Saint Mary’s University

This morning, representatives of the Market and Saint Mary’s University signed an MoU establishing the Seaport Market’s retail space called The Shelf as the first outpost of the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services’ Retail Imagination Lab.

Overlooking the harbour from the Galley on the second floor of the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, Executive Director Julie Chaisson pointed out that this event was steeped in history: Canada’s oldest continuously operating farmers’ market partnering with one of the country’s oldest universities, along with a research centre and business school named for one of Canada’s outstanding historic retail families, the Sobeys. “But this is not about the past—today, we look to the future.”

Retail innovations range widely, from data-informed store layouts, to video shelf talkers and robot sales associates, to virtual reality online and interactive digital environments. Which technology innovation should a retailer invest in? And how can the ROI be measured?

“This partnership will allow us to extend our support into new areas of innovation and technology that may not otherwise have been possible.”

— Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market Executive Director Julie Chaisson

These are the kind of questions that fires the imagination of researchers and retail analysts alike, and the Retail Imagination Lab will provide a setting to carry out pilot projects in a controlled space, with researchers there to observe, record and analyse results.

The David Sobey Centre will provide the experiments and innovation, and the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market will provide space, data access and other support through The Shelf. Students from Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business have been hired to establish the first set of innovations later this summer.

Julie Chaisson, Executive Director of the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, Executive Director and Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice President Academic and Research, Saint Mary’s University

Partnership ready to help businesses respond to breast cancer in the workplace

Leaders of the Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer research project want to connect with small and large businesses to help them implement their action plan to create “bright spots,” or best practices for a healthy workplace response to breast cancer.

The Partnership is comprised of a system of individuals who touch the working lives of breast cancer survivors in some way: breast cancer survivors, themselves, professionals working in public policy, organized labour, labour law, health services, cancer advocacy groups, and students and research experts in psychosocial oncology, work psychology, disability management, and knowledge mobilization, among others. The Partnership will spend the day on Friday designing workplace interventions to create a healthy workplace response to breast cancer. They are also developing an action plan that day, and would like to talk to community organizations, managers, and large and small businesses to help them implement this action plan.

“Help us get it right,” says Dr. Catherine Loughlin, co-investigator with the project. “We need the engagement of businesses and community members who have experienced breast cancer in the workplace.”

The project began in April 2016 and is led by researcher and Saint Mary’s University professor, Dr. Lucie Kocum and co-investigators, Dr. Catherine Loughlin (Saint Mary’s University), and Dr. Lynne Robinson (Dalhousie University). The project is funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health research, Saint Mary's University and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and community partners.

“We are doing this research for women who deserve a healthier workplace response to their disease. For the 68 Canadian women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer today, and the 68 more who will be diagnosed tomorrow,” says Dr. Kocum.

Dr. Robinson agrees: “This is about women hit hard by a life-threatening illness, and the cure rate is increasing, so is the number of working aged women diagnosed.”

Currently breast cancer is the most common cancer among women aged 20-59.

The second Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer workshop will be held at Saint Mary’s new CLARI facility on Friday, October 28 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Website: workwellnesslab.com
Twitter: @WorkWellnessLab
Facebook: WorkWellnessLab

Contact

Nicole Webb
Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer
Project and Communications Manager
Cancer and Work Communications Coordinator
902-293-5857
Nicole.Webb@smu.ca

Ceremony celebrates BNUZ relationship

Saint Mary's University has a long-standing relationship with Beijing Normal University – Zhuhai (BNUZ). For the past two years Saint Mary’s students have spent six weeks at Zhuhai during the summer months studying business, Chinese language and other programs.

Saint Mary’s is hosting a conference from July 16h - July 31st welcoming a delegation from BNUZ comprised of faculty and administrators for a 14-day summer institute focused on the intercultural exploration of strategies and best practices in university teaching and administration. This is the second year BNUZ has visited Saint Mary’s for this informative institute.
 
On Friday, Saint Mary’s held a tree ceremony to celebrate the university’s partnership with BNUZ.

Left to right: The Hon. Lena Diab, NS Minister of Immigration, Dr. Robert Summerby-Murrary, President of St. Mary’s University, MLA Joachim Stroink, Dr. Ailan Fu, Vice President & Provost, Beijing Normal University Zhuhai

Seven Sons Flower Tree

A member ofHoneysuckle family, this rare tree is endemic to China. It was discovered in 1907. Only nine populations are remain in the wild in Anhui and Zhejiang provinces and threatened by habitat loss but is now nationally protected. The tree grows up to 7m high and has white flowers with the fragrance of Jasmine. The nectar is appreciated by butterflies and moths. Purple-red fruits form in the autumn that have showy sepals.