From baby boxes, to blueberries: northern Ontario entrepreneurs get a boost

A program that helps socially conscious entrepreneurs in northern Ontario get their ideas off the ground is looking for its next batch of applicants. 

The Social Enterprise for Northern Ontario CoStarter for Change program is run through PARO, a business support program based in Thunder Bay, Ont, with the help of a number of community partners. 

Launched last summer, the program offers advice, coaching, grants, and other forms of support to entrepreneurs who want to make a living, while also enriching their community, said program manager Aleksa Shermack.

"It's really business people who have their heart and soul in the community," she said. 

The program is a big help, said Lorri Kilborn, who runs A Fresh Start, a mobile hairstyling business that brings the salon to the clients, and serves people with both mobility problems, and financial barriers. 

"Any aspect of my business that I'm having trouble with, I just need to phone PARO ... they're awesome," said Kilborn. 

Leslie Boote is also getting help with her business, which provides post-natal care to mothers. One of her ambitions is to bring the baby box program to Thunder Bay.

"I noticed in our community — and also surrounding communities — the vulnerable mothers, the mothers that are in need, and I wanted to change that," she said. "I wanted to help those mothers care for their babies."

Other businesses in the current round of the program include a local fish business in Thunder Bay, an indoor skateboard park in Sault Ste. Marie and an employment initiative in Atikokan which puts young people to work harvesting blueberries. 

PARO is currently looking for applicants for its next two rounds of the program.