A business club from Britannia secondary has won provincial student company of the year for the third year in a row.
"I'm just so proud of these kids," said business education department head, teacher and club leader Lee Nipp.
He said students at the inner city school receive limited opportunities. "So when we give these opportunities it's really nice to see what they can do given the chance," he said. "It's overwhelming at times what they show me."
Britannia Business Club won the Junior Achievement of B.C. award with their company Quenched and its two designs for wellness-themed tumblers. Their BPA-free drink containers feature nutrition labels that list "nutrients" as confidence and kindness for the broader community, responsibility and respect for the school community.
Twenty-nine Grade 11 and 12 students participated in this year's club. In 16 weeks they devised a business idea, registered their corporation with the B.C. chapter of Junior Achievement, the world's largest not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating young people about business, developed their design, got it manufactured, marketed their product and sold it. Students, teacher sponsors and business consultants contributed $15 each as shareholders, and students pre-sold tumblers to raise the remainder of the $960 needed for startup costs.
Quenched earned a profit, achieved a 114 per cent return on investment and donated money to the Vancouver food bank and CLICK, or Contributing to Lives of Inner City Kids, a community-based, non-profit foundation.
"They're giving back," Nipp said.
Britannia's club won last year with its Raincouver umbrella. The club won in 2011 with its B.EAST Apparel company.
Sariah Conor, Grade 12 student and president of Quenched, said students find the hands-on experience beneficial. "It's different from when you're in school and you're writing worksheets," she said. "It really puts people out of their comfort zone and that's a really important thing in business."
Britannia business club students were to be recognized Thursday night at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business.
Conor recently won an Award for Oratory and Presentation Skills at a Business Laureates Business of B.C. Hall of Fame gala dinner and induction ceremony.
She is off to the University of B.C. in the fall to study economics.
Nipp started the business club in 2008. Its alumni study at post-secondary institutions that include UBC, Capilano University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
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