Help send Kamloops Steminists to Peru. Visit their Go Fund Me page

October 4, 2018– A JA Student Company from Kamloops, BC has been selected by JA Canada to represent Canada in JA Americas Company of the Year Competition in Lima, Peru on November 25-28, 2018.

Their product, Recycled Sounds, was developed by a group of high school students as part of an after school Company Program called Steminists, intended to give young women hands-on experience in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and entrepreneurship. This Company Program was offered in Kamloops thanks to the financial support of Arrow Transportation Systems Inc.

Recycled Sounds is an eco-friendly speaker and smartphone accessory engineered from recycled wood. The customizable device can be used for amplifying music, watching videos and streaming services on all sizes and models of phones.

With community and mentor assistance, the team self-funded and built their own student start-up over five months. They produced and sold 110 speakers online and through community contacts, retail contracts and pop up shops. In June, they received the Ledcor Regional Company of the Year Award, earning $3,000.

At the JA Americas Company of the Year Competition, students from Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean present the results of their enterprise and learning experience and appear before a panel of independent judges who determine company performance against the competition criteria.

“Recycled Sounds was chosen by a panel of judges who assessed the submissions on several criteria including the 3 P’s (people, planet and profit), innovation, and the quality of their written submission,” said Karen Gallant, Vice President, Programs and Charter Services at JA Canada. “The judges were impressed with the company’s performance in all dimensions. We are very excited for them.”

JA Canada and JA Americas is covering the costs of transportation and accommodation to Peru. The team is currently fundraising for additional expenses including flights from Kamloops to Vancouver, vaccines and medical insurance.

Learn more about JA Company Program at https://jabc.org/companyprogram and Recycled Sounds at recycledsounds.blog.

Update: October 9th, 2018:

LISTEN HERE to JABC Program Coordinator Kara Wright and Recycled Sounds VP of Marketing Sarah Baughan on CHNL Radio Kamloops.