SVP 8x10 Expose Potential

Friday night was Social Venture Partners Waterloo Region’s annual 8x10 Expose event. As noted in my preview post a few weeks ago, I’ve been fortunate to take part in this event over the last few years. The evening has 8 speakers who have 10 minutes each to tell the crowd a story that changed how they see the world.

Another part of the evening is an auction of some work from some local photographers. David McCammon, Mark Essner, Mark Walton, Laura Cook, Raegan Little, Brian Douglas, and myself all had some work up for bidding. I had four pieces and am happy to say that all of them sold. SVP gets a 25% cut from the sales of these so it’s nice that we’re also able to contribute to the cause.

My friend Lori, who works as a therapist at the Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre, was one of the speakers and told the audience about of one of the many people who she has encountered over her fourteen years as a professional therapist. Other speakers included former Kitchener Rangers captain Ben Fanelli; palliative care consultant Cathy Joy; Mark Clubine, a local school board trustee; Rufus John, a soul/R&B singer and Youth Coordinator, Kinbridge Community Association; Gael Gilbert, Executive Director, SHOW; and National Geographic Young Explorer Andrew Wong. An 8th speaker, Rahma Abukhouse, was unable to attend.

Each speaker had their own unique story that, while it might’ve been a sad story, they were able to see some good come out of it. There were definitely a few stories that made us in the audience realize how lucky some of us really are.