Yesterday I had the pleasure of helping out (it is international volunteer week) by being a career role model for Youth in Motion.  The event had over 150 students from grades 7-10, and was focused on showing them how running your own business is a potential career path.  There were over 35 entrepreneurs (me being one of them) that shared our experience with the students. 

The event was really well done by Youth in Motion and the best part was being surrounded by a whole room full of Oranges.  Every one of the volunteers had personalities and companies that were a step above the norm.  Of course even when you are surrounded by amazing people, there are always a couple who manage to remain a step ahead of everyone else.

Oranges Amongst Oranges

Here are some of the people that inspired me:

The breakdancer Mike Prosserman who started an organization Unity Charity to help inspire students to follow their passions through breakdancing, beat boxing, and the spoken word.

The athlete Orlando Bowen who played for the Toronto Argonauts and has founded an organization called One Voice One Team that brings in athletes and celebreties to inspire kids to follow their dreams.

The fire cracker Samantha Montpetit-Huynh whose positive attitude and energy and amazing ability to speak to almost everyone in the room.  Samantha runs a fitness company called Core Expectations helping pre and post natal women stay in shape. 

Finally the young social activist Amanda Belzowski from Amanda’s Lemonade.   A 13 year old girl who for the last 11 years has run a lemonade stand and raised over $151,000 for the heart and stroke foundation. 

Volunteering for organizations like Youth in Motion is one of the best ways to remind yourself how amazing this world can be by surrounding yourself with a room full of oranges that are all following their dreams and impacting the world in a positive way. 

Remembering days like these can help you get through the tough times when nothing seems to be going right for you.  Hopefully you can find a local volunteering event to give you a boost of inspiration.