March 22, 2017

The RBC Foundation has helped Medicine Hat College (MHC) provide support and guidance to entrepreneurs for the past six years, and is continuing that support with a donation of $35,000.

As a founding partner in MHC’s Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC), RBC saw a chance to help develop prosperity in our region. The RBC Foundation’s initial donations allowed the EDC to develop the Startup Toolkit and the Startup Seminar Series.

“Success in our minds is helping more young Canadians reach their full potential, and education is a cornerstone of that journey. Canada’s greatest resource is undoubtedly the youth of today,” says Kevin Zimmel, regional-VP of commercial banking for RBC.

"Thousands of young people coast to coast are craving opportunity, knowledge, and connection. They deserve every chance we can give them to live full, healthy, and successful lives. Our prosperity as a country depends on our ability to harness the talent of our young people."

Entrepreneurship is growing for many reasons. A slow economy can encourage that leap to something thought about for a long time, or someone might find their backs against a wall and determine that now is the time to try something new that fits into their life.

"As we continue to grow the EDC we are excited to have a partner in RBC that is willing to grow with us,” says Tracy Stroud, manager of business development at MHC. “Since entrepreneurship is increasingly a career of choice for youth, I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Not only for the EDC but for our students, the future business leaders of tomorrow.”

As a subset, youth entrepreneurship is growing for different reasons. Whether a desire to develop experience in a competitive field, supplement to full-time work, or build a home-based business that offers flexibility, many youth see entrepreneurship as a desirable alternative to their parents 9-5 grind. They don’t just go to school to get a job, they go to school to make their own job.

According to MHC president and CEO, Denise Henning, “By providing this donation, RBC has ensured that our students will be able to make an impact on our community for years to come. The ultimate success of this program really is the impact on the community at large.”

Part of the new funding will allow for the expansion of the Start-Up seminar series to the MHC Brooks Campus and high school students, and provide for the human resources to help coordinate the program.

The EDC has a mandate to assist students and alumni of MHC in a variety of ways. Learn more about the services we provide and the opportunities in store by contacting Christie Dick, EDC project officer at (403)502-8433 or cdick@mhc.ab.ca.

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Support from the community comes in MHC students many ways to. Anyone interested in helping support students through donations are encouraged to contact the MHC Foundation to learn about the opportunities available to invest in our students, our college and our community.

Learn more by contacting Linda Tooth, manager, fund development ltooth@mhc.ab.ca or 403-529-3897), or Jenna Williams, community relations officer (jwilliams@mhc.ab.caor 403- 502-8995).