Regardless of what background you come from, what struggles you’ve had, or the number of people who’ve stood in front of you and said, ‘No, I don’t believe in you,’ you’ve just got to keep pushing … One day, someone will lend you that hand to help you believe that what you do as a person and a business owner means something.

And to be recognized for that means the absolute world. 

~ Emily Cole, 2024 Dr. Paul Garfinkel Resilience Award

On December 3, 2024, we gathered the Rise community from across Canada to celebrate the Rotman Family Entrepreneurship Awards, our annual event honouring the outstanding achievements and resilience of Rise clients and volunteers.

We want to thank Anne-Marie Mediwake for hosting the event and leading such a personal and thought-provoking panel discussion. To our award recipients, thank you for candidly sharing your stories and experiences.

Rise supports people who might otherwise be excluded from or underserved by traditional employment and financial systems. We help our clients develop the skills and access the capital they need to build a business. And as we learned from this year’s award recipients, entrepreneurship can not only empower our clients to create suitable work for themselves,  but it also improves their quality of life and enables them to make important community contributions.

We want to recognize our award sponsors: Bell Let’s Talk and Scotiabank. Thank you for your ongoing support of this important celebration.

Finally, we’d like to thank all of you—our clients, volunteers, partners, and staff. Your individual contributions make our collective impact possible, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

 

Rick Couchman, The Poop Valet — 2024 Rotman Family Entrepreneur of the Year

Melissa Bradshaw, Montego Brown Hair Care — 2024 Bell Let’s Talk Start-Up Award

Emily Cole, Meadows Baby and Kids — 2024 Dr. Paul Garfinkel Resilience Award

Prince Khan — 2024 Scotiabank Volunteer of the Year Award

Savoy-Pitfield Family — 2024 Dave Richardson Champion Award

To learn more about our award recipients, visit our Impact Stories page.

MISSED THE EVENT? WATCH IT HERE:

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