As we mark the 150th anniversary of confederation, The Philanthropist is profiling Canadians from across the non-profit sector and putting a face to 150 individuals who work or volunteer in Canada’s social sector.
Name: Lourdes Juan
Current role in the sector: Founder and Director, Leftovers Foundation
Years working and/or volunteering in the nonprofit sector: 5 years.
What was your first job in the sector or a defining moment?
My first role in the sector was volunteering at the Alberta Children’s Hospital at 16 years old. It was an incredible experience at such a young age where I was able to help families and spend time with children in the palliative unit. I learned about how much volunteers can support families and their communities. I stayed as involved as I could with volunteer work and then 12 years after my first volunteer experience, I founded the Leftovers Foundation, a non-profit that redirects excess food to different service agencies and shelters in Calgary and Edmonton.
Describe your desk/workspace.
Everything is at right angles and organized. I try to keep myself as organized as possible since my thoughts can be scatterbrained at times!
What are you reading or following that has expanded your understanding of the non-profit sector?
Meeting with the many community leaders and builders in Calgary in the non-profit sector has expanded my knowledge. My interest and fascination is with social enterprise and working with the Hunter Centre of Entrepreneurship at the University of Calgary has helped me gain further understanding of the social enterprise sector.
What do you think our sector needs to be thinking about?
What matters to me is solving complex issues that the non-profit sector takes on. This includes the root causes of these issues and what we can do to address them. I’m fascinated by social enterprise and I think the sector should think about for-profit models that can benefit the sector.
Do you know someone we should profile as part of this series? Email us at philanthropistprofiles@gmail.com
