Acadia University student Alex Dulay’s foray into entrepreneurship came under the most dire of circumstances.
When Dulay was 10, her mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Needing money to pay for treatments, Dulay, who is originally from the Philippines, started making crafts that a brother sold on Facebook, which helped pay for some chemotherapy treatments.
But Dulay’s mother died of cancer two years later. That same year, one of Dulay’s brothers died in a car accident. And, at 14, her father died because of health issues.
“Over the years, I kind of use that as my motivation to just keep on living, just making them proud,” said Dulay, 21.
Now living in Nova Scotia, Dulay is one of this year’s eight recipients of the Frank H. Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies, a $45,000 scholarship given to a select group of students studying business at Atlantic Canadian universities.
“Looking back into everything that has happened in my life and everything that I’ve been through, it was just such a surreal moment,” said Dulay. “Twelve-year-old me would never even realize that I’m capable of doing, accomplishing something like this.”
Looking back on the Facebook rainbow loom business, Dulay said the experience gave her some optimism, teaching her that there are many good people in the world. While there was no set price for the product, she said people often were generous knowing how the money was to be spent.
After the death of Dulay’s dad, she began living with an aunt in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
At 16, she and her sister immigrated to Canada to live with another aunt who had already settled in the tiny francophone community of Meteghan in southwestern Nova Scotia.
Dulay is wrapping up her third year at Acadia, where she is pursuing a bachelor of business administration, majoring in entrepreneurship and innovation.
She’s also working on a startup called Touching Hearts, which aims to provide fair wages for Asian artisans. Their products will be shipped to Canada and sold through a website here. As well, 50 per cent of the profits will go back to the people who made the products, said Dulay.
The name of the business is inspired by a quote Dulay’s mom was fond of.
“Some say life is too short, others say it’s too long. I know nothing, but it does make sense if we touch the hearts of others while it lasts,” said Dulay.
This quote fuels Dulay.
She also said it speaks to who her mom, who was a school principal, was as a person. Dulay said she still receives messages from former students talking about the positive impact her mom had on their lives.
Touching Hearts is one way Dulay aims to give back. She also has plans to start a business that builds affordable housing in Canada and uses some of the profits to build housing in the Philippines for families in need.
After her business studies, Dulay plans to study architecture. Two years of undergraduate studies are needed for architecture, which is why she’s in business administration.
At Acadia, Dulay volunteers with a club that promotes mental health services to students. She’s also creating a mural for an on-campus entrepreneurship organization and is the incoming president of Enactus Acadia, which promotes social entrepreneurship in the community.
Dulay was urged by a friend to apply for the Sobey scholarship. That friend, Kirsten Lawrence, won the scholarship a year ago.
Lawrence said Dulay is using entrepreneurship to create positive social change.
“Alex is someone who is extremely determined, which is clear in how she has overcome many obstacles in her life,” Lawrence wrote in an email to CBC News.
“She always has a positive outlook on life, she cares a lot about her friends and family, and is a supportive leader to her peers.”
Dulay estimates it took her four months to apply for the Sobey scholarship because she kept making changes to it. Part of the application required detailing her childhood. The process was therapeutic for her, but winning unlocked something else.
“Winning that award was definitely, like, the moment that I realized that I am on the right track with my life,” she said.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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