Okanagan College’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team returned to the Okanagan this week with three national awards and the well-deserved respect of their peers after making their way to the final round at the prestigious competition – the second time in SIFE Okanagan’s short six-year history.

For the second year in a row SIFE Okanagan won the Campbell’s Soup Let’s Can Hunger competition, which challenges teams to raise awareness around hunger issues as well as collect food for local food banks.

SIFE Okanagan implemented 31 initiatives in communities from Penticton to Salmon Arm and raised more than 80,000 pounds of food through the Let’s Can Hunger program, all of which was donated to local food banks. Collectively, 32 SIFE teams across Canada raised an extraordinary 314,000 pounds of food through this year's challenge, SIFE Okanagan’s contribution made up approximately 25 per cent of the national total.

"The SIFE Okanagan College team stood out by making a significant and lasting impact their community,” said Mark Childs, Vice President of Marketing, Campbell Canada. “We are inspired in our efforts to help alleviate hunger in Canada by these impressive achievements.”

As part of their recognition for winning the hunger challenge, Campbell’s Canada invited SIFE Okanagan to tour the company headquarters in Toronto, where the students had the opportunity to witness the soup giant’s manufacturing operations in addition to meeting their marketing team.

In addition to winning the Campbell’s challenge, SIFE Okanagan went head-to-head with 45 of Canada’s top post-secondary institutions, making its way to the final round of the national competition, which charges teams with making sophisticated presentations on the projects they have undertaken over the course of the year. SIFE Okanagan finished in the top five after their final presentation. Member of the national presentation team were Brant Jackson (Vernon) and Kelowna’s Megan Annand, Jeff Tassone, Jennifer Stefansson, Raymond Ong and Sattu Dhaliwal.

The SIFE Okanagan Entrepreneurship team finished second in the country, placing ahead of Ryerson University, University of Toronto, St. Francis Xavier University and others, finishing behind Memorial University, who went on to win the national competition. The team that presented on Entrepreneurship was made up of Penticton’s Brea Retzlaff and Caroline Wyatt, Vernon’s Jonathan Gardner and Kelowna members Aman Sandhu, Nikki Lees and Paven Sekhon.

In Financial Literacy, the team of Steven DeBoer (Salmon Arm), Jordan Pack (Salmon Arm), Justina LeeStolz (Kelowna), Danielle Hofer (Kelowna), Bunvir Nijjer (Kelowna) and Bill Wang (Kelowna) finished in the top six in the nation.

“SIFE Okanagan were real winners as they competed for the title of Canadian national champion as one of five finalists on the big stage at the Toronto Convention Center,” said Dr. Heather Banham, Dean of the Okanagan School of Business. “SIFE Okanagan did an amazing job completing projects with economic, social and environmental impact and reporting out on their successes. These students did a fabulous job representing our region, Okanagan College, the Okanagan School of Business and themselves.”

SIFE Okanagan Business Advisory Board member Sheldon Gardiner won a national award for his role in mentoring students, for acting as an ambassador of the program and for his guidance in developing Venture Okanagan. In addition to his role on SIFE Okanagan’s advisory board, Gardiner set up a scholarship award for SIFE – the inaugural award was presented to SIFE Okanagan President Sattu Dhaliwal.

"SIFE Okanagan met and exceeded all of their goals this year and achieved outstanding results at National Competition,” said Dr. Kyleen Myrah, SIFE Okanagan Faculty Advisor in the Okanagan School of Business. “I am proud to be part of such a dynamic and innovative student group that demonstrates ongoing leadership and community impact."