BIZ BUZZ
A collection of business news from around the community
Water Well-ness
A McMaster University medical student is the co-founder of a Canadian non-profit with a goal of making sure every person on the planet has access to clean water and adequate sanitation.
Roopa Suppiah of the Water Wellness Project (WWP) said the organization recently launched a national program called H20 Investments, offering Canadians a new way to take part in philanthropy and help those in need.
People can invest $100 or more in international microfinance water and sanitation projects to help bring clean water and toilets to those who don’t have them, according to a WWP news release.
WWP transfers all of the money to its microfinance field partners in India, and the funds are then disbursed as loans to families in need so they can install water and sanitation facilities.
The loans are paid back over time to the field partner, the release says.
At the end of the investment term, people receive their money back plus interest accrued.
Currently, their activities are focused in India.
Mobile bike shop
A North American fleet of mobile bike shops now has a big red repair van in Hamilton.
Local residents Sean and Allison Green partnered with Velofix to start offering mobile bike maintenance and repair in March.
The van can service all types of bikes — from road to triathlon to mountain, to e-bikes and kids’ bikes, for individual owners or fleets — from Hamilton to Brantford, according to Velofix.
For more information, visit velofix.com/locations/hamilton/.
Land in Hamilton
The City of Hamilton’s economic development team is holding a threeday program to help introduce businesses to the local landscape.
The session — from June 7 to 9 — is open to companies, municipalities, educational institutions as well as trade and non-profit organizations.
It’s expected to be heavy with networking and help for businesses to develop a “sales pipeline” to their first North American customers.
Registration closes June 1. For more information, visit investinhamilton.ca.
Cars 4 Cures
A Hamilton-based company is helping charities by collecting unwanted vehicles.
Cars 4 Cures, an eco-friendly organization serving Ontario and Winnipeg, was started by two Hamiltonians.
The idea is, when someone has a car, boat, RV, motorcycle or trailer they no longer want, they can donate it to one of Cars 4 Cures’ Canadian partner charities, including local operations like 541 Eatery and Exchange, Food4Kids and Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club.
The company picks up the vehicle for free within 24 to 48 hours and recycles it, either by selling its parts, the whole vehicle or sending it to the scrap yard.
The value of the vehicle is then donated to the donor’s selected charity, and the donor receives a tax receipt.
For more information, visit cars4cures.ca.
Feeding 1 billion
A Hamilton-based startup has joined with a non-profit organization to help put food on 1 billion plates around the world by November 2020.
Xocial, which uses gaming science and “competitive kindness” to inspire social change, partnered with Feed a Billion (FAB) to help them reward people sharing news and allow them to contribute in ways beyond donating money using a Facebook campaign.
FAB launched in May 2016 and had provided 1.3 million meals to those in need by January 2017.
Coffee passport
Calling all coffee fiends. Bring your Hamilton 2017 coffee passport — selling for $10 on WagJag or at Ward IV Coffee Bar at 1441 Main St. E. — to 12 local retailers and get your hands on one medium coffee at each spot.
“The idea behind the Hamilton Coffee Passport is to showcase Hamilton’s hidden gems,” said Arthur Sunday, a digital media consultant at Metroland Media (the company that publishes The Hamilton Spectator) who headed up the project. “A lot of people are hung up on the major players … so we wanted this passport to focus specifically on the local coffee shops in Hamilton.”
Participating businesses include Durand Coffee on Charlton Avenue West, 541 Eatery and Exchange on Barton Street East and Café Oranje on King Street East.
Four dollars from each sale goes toward the McMaster Children’s Hospital Foundation.