The graduating class at Saint Mary’s school will enjoy a day in Toronto thanks in part to a lucrative partnership with SoapStones, a business in downtown Huntsville.
The 50-some students will celebrate their upcoming graduation with a trip to the Famous People Players to take in a production of Made in Canada – The Musical.
To help offset the costs of the trip, the grade eight students from Saint Mary’s took advantage of an unique offer made by David and Joanne McLean, the owners of SoapStones, to sell some of their product in return for a share of the profits.
The top selling students were on hand last week to receive a $1500 cheque, on behalf of all the students, for their efforts. Rylind Davis, who embraced the entrepreneurial spirit wholeheartedly by dressing for success, was the top selling student. He shared a bit the strategy he employed to earn top spot.
I was here on a snow day. I wore a tie and a sweatshirt and I went around and tried to sell to people and to the teacher. By the end of that snow day I had about 10 people on my list.Student Rylind Davis
Teacher Andrew Foxcroft (left) and student Rylind Davis (centre) accept a $1500 cheque from SoapStones in recognition of their fundraising efforts.
David and Joanne McLean made the decision to leave the corporate world of leadership consulting, where long days and travel were affecting their quality to life, to buy SoapStones. They took over the business in October. Part of their business model includes fostering leadership in youth.
“The development of youth leadership is the focal point of our philanthropy,” said David. “We had designated that area of endeavour from the very start when we took over the business. We saw this as a way in which we could partner and help out students in their growth and development.”
To that end, David and Joanne have publicly committed five per cent of their net profits to support the development of youth leadership, and 50 per cent of their profits from the Enliven line to Enliven, a not-for-profit foundation that provides proactive self-care services (programs, workshops, events) that support people living with cancer .
The McLeans welcome any organization that is aligned with their mission to develop youth leadership to contact them, promising that if there is a fit they will do their best to help them out.
See related story – Creating youth leaders, one skincare product at a time – here.
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