KELLY LOVELL
AT 22, KELLY LOVELL has had enough of being told she’s “too young, too ambitious” or “moving too fast.” What she sees as a widespread lack of trust in young people fuels her fierce determination to prove just how much they can do. “Youth have two tools: their voice and media,” she says. “I want to bring more awareness of what young people are achieving. The 21st century glass ceiling isn’t gender. That was the last century. Now the barrier is age. Youth is the glass ceiling.” Two years into a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science and honours business at Western University, she took a break from school this year to focus on two businessoriented ventures. She hastens to say she’s not abandoning her studies as many entrepreneurs do: “I’ll definitely get my degree to fall back on. I used to think I’d have to stay in school until 30, get a PhD, before I could do anything. I know now there isn’t really a distinct path to leadership, one road from A to B. There’s lots of ways to get to B.” Lovell looks so young but speaks with such confidence that it’s tempting to see her, an only child, as the product of parents who make things happen. She says that’s not so. “My parents let me find my own path. They didn’t provide money or >>
>> mentorship. They provided freedom. My mom taught me empathy, my dad gave me stubbornness so I can hold my own. Together they made me an unmatched force.”
Lovell says she was an introvert, shy, even bullied, to about age 17. “That’s when I came into my own. I found my voice at the Volunteer Action Centre in Kitchener.”
The centre matches volunteers with nonprofits needing help. When Lovell learned that there was a provincewide goal for each centre to increase its youth volunteer hours, she knew she could make that happen. She launched an inter-school competition that racked up 2,100 volunteer hours in a three-week campaign. “I knew that what motivates us is competition and fun.”
When her effort was officially recognized by the province, she was hooked. “That galvanized me to go further. I went back with more ideas, but they told me to slow down. So I created my own teams to volunteer and fundraise. Now everything (I do) is youth-powered. I want to demonstrate our strengths.”
Another motivation was being named to a 2012 list of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 leaders. Reading about other young leaders “made me feel I wasn’t doing enough.”
Locally, Dave Fedy contacted her after reading about a Top 20 Under 20 story. He was involved in the local We Day, a project of the Kielburger brothers, Craig and Marc, and introduced her to Craig, who passed her off to someone else a couple of times. Finally she broke through, brushed off suggestions she start as a crowd igniter, and ended up giving the opening speech at the 2012 We Day at the Kitchener Auditorium.
“It was my first motivational speech, and as soon as I stepped on that stage in front of 7,000 young people and felt the energy in that crowd, I knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Lovell says. “That was my pivotal moment.”
In Toronto, she purposefully knocks on doors and makes cold calls to executives, inviting them to coffee and seeking their advice. She refuses to be discouraged by the frequent turn-downs. “They’d say they didn’t see how they could help, but if I really wanted them I’d re-approach. Often the second approach is through email, although a phone call or talk in person is 100 per cent better. Passion and perseverance can overcome roadblocks. A lot of my best mentors needed a second or third try. Eventually I break down that door and they offer me 20 minutes. They respect persistence.”
Her chief focus this spring is My Clean City, a green-themed game for young people that puts volunteers to work on real environmental projects. She’s used social media and contacted school groups across the country in an effort to recruit “clean teams” for existing programs in their home towns. Starting in April, teams’ volunteer hours will be tallied and rewarded with “clean creds,” which could be a gift card from a corporate partner or perhaps a mentorship opportunity.
Lovell believes two elements will make My Clean City a success. It turns volunteer work into play, and volunteers get something out of the competition. No one tells them what to do, teams are organized by peers, and the challenge runs for just two months. “They need to see the finish line,” she says.
My Clean City was 18 months in the making. “I want 100,000 participants,” Lovell says. “It’s a large goal and a lot of people think that’s unrealistic. I’ve been pushed around, told not to go national, but I stuck with it. It could go universal someday. We quantify volunteer work, and the data we gather could be valuable to businesses.”
The “gem” behind My Clean City is that young people create their own challenges, Lovell says. “So many organizations are trying to attract and engage young people, but often they just get the keeners like me. I go after the slightly less engaged youth. I see them as underestimated, and they’re often the brightest contributors. I engage them by working with their passion. I always ask what their interests are, or needs they have. If I need videography, I put a post in schools’ video departments. Students are always looking to build their portfolio and I go to where they are.”
Her TedxYouth@Waterloo speech is helping connect her with like-minded youth, while a You Effect video series she produced for Rogers Cable in Kitchener tells their stories. “I want to make social contributions cool and fun,” Lovell said.
So far she’s a full-time volunteer, living frugally, occasional public speaking her only source of income. (She’s represented by the National Speakers Bureau.) Another goal for 2014 is to figure out how to make some money from her efforts. “For-profit is a huge turnoff for youth and I’m a huge advocate for volunteerism,” she says, “but there will be a point where you have to make that switch.”