Two Burnaby restaurants are participating in this week's Dining Out for Life fundraiser.
The Pear Tree Restaurant and Club Ilia Eatery and Lounge will be donating 25 per cent of their sales to A Loving Spoonful and Friends for Life, according to a press release.
It is the 18th annual Dining Out for Life fundraiser, which raises money for the two organizations helping those living with HIV and AIDS.
"A couple spending $60 at a Dining Out For Life restaurant will provide meals for four people through Friends For Life and A Loving Spoonful," said Lisa Martella, executive director of A Loving Spoonful, in the press release.
The fundraiser takes place on Thursday with more than 215 restaurants participating.
Stella Artois, one of the sponsors, has said it will donate $1 from each of its beer sales, the release added.
The Pear Tree is at 4120 Hastings St. in Burnaby Heights and Club Ilia is at 8902 University High Street on the Simon Fraser University campus.
For more information, go to www.diningoutfor life.com.
CALLING YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
Burnaby entrepreneurs, aged 18 to 35, have the chance to win the $100,000 2012 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award from the Business Development Bank of Canada.
Applicants are asked to submit a video by April 8, describing their plans for a project that would grow their business, according to a press release from BDC.
Applications can be submitted online and details are available at www.bdcyoungentrepre neuraward.ca, and on the BDC's Facebook page.
Canadians can also cast their votes on the Facebook page for their favourite innovation project from 11 finalists, who will be chosen by a panel of judges. Voting will take place between May 2 and 22.
The winner will be announced on May 28, according to the release.
MIX AND MINGLE AT RECEPTION
Burnaby Board of Trade members are invited to a free members' reception at the Scandinavian Community Centre this week.
The reception takes place at the centre, at 6540 Thomas St., from 5: 30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, according to the board's website.
Members will receive a complimentary drink and authentic Scandinavian appetizers and listen to live music.
But only members who register are able to attend.
To register, call 6044120100 or email ricky@bbot. ca. For more information, go to www.bbot.ca.
SFU STUDENTS WIN
The Hunger Actions program, created by Simon Fraser University students, won the Capital One SIFE Financial Education Challenge at the Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship western regional competition, held in Vancouver at the beginning of March.
Students with SFU's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) group designed the program to help lowincome women eat healthy on a smart budget, according to a SFU press release.
The team will go on to the national competition in Calgary in May, the release added.
SFU students Lynn Shinto and Kimberly Nguyen-Don presented the free, four-week program, which is led by students, a trio of volunteer dietitians and women who return as mentors, they said.
They estimated the project has saved the female participants more than $23,000 overall on their food budgets, according to the release, and helped 52 low-income women in Surrey and Vancouver learn how to develop and implement food budgets in its first year.
SIFE Simon Fraser was also a runner-up in the TD SIFE Entrepreneurship Challenge for its Bright Ideas and Student Entrepreneur of the Year programs, the release stated.
Sonam Swarup, a thirdyear SFU communication student, was named the 2012 HSBC Woman Leader of Tomorrow for Western Canada at the competition.
Matias Marquez, co-founder of Buyatab Inc. and SFU's Student Entrepreneur of the Year 2011, secured the title of Student Entrepreneur Western Regional Champion.
Both also move on to the national competition, the release said.
HELP FOR HOSPITAL
Brentwood Town Centre recently donated $5,000 to its current charity of choice, the Burnaby Hospital Foundation, according to the foundation's spokesperson, Stephanie Leung.
The money went towards the purchase of a baby scale for the neonatal intensive care unit at Burnaby Hospital.
The funds were raised during the past year through the centre's stroller rental program and holiday toy fundraiser, she said in an email to the NOW.
The centre also works with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Deer Lake Rotary Club, Burnaby Family Life and Volunteer Burnaby on awareness building and fundraising at its location, according to the centre's website.
DIVERSITY IN EMPLOYMENT
Stantec, an architectural and planning consulting firm based in Edmonton, was named one of Canada's best diversity employers by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers.
The firm has an office in Burnaby with 139 employees, according to a press release from the company.
The sixth annual competition recognized Canadian employers with "exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs," the release stated.
"To be named one of Canada's best diversity employers is a tremendous honor," said Tino DiManno, Stantec's senior vice-president for Canada West, in the release.
The editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers looked for diversity initiatives at Canadian companies in five categories: women; members of visible minorities; persons with disabilities; aboriginal peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered/transsexual (LGBT) people.
The firm was picked for initiatives such as appointing a director of diversity and inclusion at the company, forming an employment equity committee in 2008, and supporting Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology, an organization based at the University of Alberta.
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