Enactus Lambton has received $100,000 from RBC to support two of its latest projects.
RBC Senior Commercial Account Manager Michael Caverly, who also sits on Lambton College's Board of Governors, said it's a notable investment.
"This is our largest citizenship commitment in our history as an organization and it speaks to the importance of helping young leaders prepare for tomorrow, today," said Caverly.
Enactus Lambton Coordinator Megan Rizzo.
Enactus Lambton Coordinator Megan Rizzo said the money will support the One Circle and One Future programs.
She said One Circle is a spin-off of the group's world-renowned One Seed project that's been tailored to work with Indigenous communities to address issues like business development, food stability and clean water.
"We're working with 15 First Nations and we're helping them with developing their skills in entrepreneurship and financial literacy," said Rizzo. "We want to stop that economic leakage, we want to keep growing an economy within that First Nation and with RBC support we're now able to do that."
Rizzo said Indigenous communities have really accepted the program, so it has expanded beyond Ontario to British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
"Currently we have 29 members of the Enactus Lambton team total, we have about 15 members that are working on this team. Because our project is in three different provinces we have to separate the team and have an Ontario team and a team that can travel."
She said the One Future program offers entrepreneurship and social justice workshops to local elementary and secondary school students.
Rizzo said they've partnered with the St. Clair Catholic District School Board to work with students in Grades 7, 8 and 12 at five schools in Lambton County.
"We go in and we ask them what bothers them, not video games, like 'what actually bothers you in your community and abroad,' and then together we talk about those issues and we say, 'how can we solve them,' said Rizzo. "Then we have them develop projects or businesses that are on those issues and have them do research and present and recognize an issue, implement a project and talk about that project."
Enactus Lambton is the reigning Enactus Canada National Champion, taking the title in 2018 and 2019. The team captured the Enactus World Cup in 2018 and came in second in 2019.