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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's Entrepreneur, where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen
[00:05] SPEAKER_00: across Canada and deliver the news, trends, knowledge and opinions from entrepreneurs and business
[00:13] SPEAKER_01: influences across the country. Hello, I'm Mario Tonoguzi, Managing Editor of Canada's Entrepreneur.
[00:21] SPEAKER_01: My guest today on Calgary's podcast is Jamie Conroy, who is co-founder of Orrenda Society.
[00:27] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us today, Jamie. Thanks for having me. Well, let me just start by asking you if
[00:33] SPEAKER_01: you could explain what Orrenda Society is and what it does. Absolutely. So, Orrenda started as
[00:39] SPEAKER_02: Summer Camp and then it moved into being more of a program-based organization where young people
[00:47] SPEAKER_02: came and held brave spaces together. And then it became more of a program. It became a space where
[00:53] SPEAKER_02: young people could come in, be here in a way of remembering who, who they are. It was an
[01:00] SPEAKER_02: opportunity to create transformational spaces for you, families in our community to really connect
[01:06] SPEAKER_02: and reconnect back to themselves and each other and the land essentially. And we did this through
[01:11] SPEAKER_02: movement, mentorship, mindfulness programs and really equipping young people first with tools
[01:18] SPEAKER_02: that foster resilience, presence, authentic connection and really just having that proactive
[01:25] SPEAKER_02: human first approach to mental wellness that allowed people to, allowed us to meet people where
[01:31] SPEAKER_02: they were at and remind them that they weren't alone in this journey. And sorry, what did it begin?
[01:38] SPEAKER_01: 2017. 2017. Can you give me a little bit of the background behind that and how it started and
[01:46] SPEAKER_02: why it started? Well, essentially it came, it was really born from lived experiences, growth that
[01:54] SPEAKER_02: came from, you know, challenging challenges, reflection and different healing opportunities. So,
[01:59] SPEAKER_02: as a parent and educator and facilitators, we saw cracks in the system and we knew that we wanted
[02:05] SPEAKER_01: to support well-being for young people and families. And when you look at the issue today, I know,
[02:15] SPEAKER_01: is it more of a growing concern, the mental health and well-being, especially of you?
[02:23] SPEAKER_02: It really is and I know it's so stigmatized right now, but I feel like we need to get a lot more
[02:29] SPEAKER_02: serious about what's actually happening. You know, we sat at a round table actually just yesterday
[02:33] SPEAKER_02: and we were looking at some sad thing, Canada and, you know, suicide is the second,
[02:39] SPEAKER_02: like the second cause of death in young people right now. And that just means that our parents and
[02:45] SPEAKER_02: our children are just not getting the support that they need or it's just not as available as we'd
[02:50] SPEAKER_01: like it to be. Okay, and suddenly, you know, from what you're dealing with and, you know, with the
[02:55] SPEAKER_01: people that you're working with, what sort of the underlying, I guess, I guess behind some of the
[03:04] SPEAKER_02: issues that are facing from mental health. I feel like people just don't have the resources,
[03:12] SPEAKER_02: there's barriers, you know, cost, support, not having the confidence to be able to ask for what
[03:18] SPEAKER_02: you need or even understanding what you need, understanding what you're going through. There's a
[03:22] SPEAKER_02: lack of community. People are very alone in our society. We're faced with being on social media
[03:29] SPEAKER_02: or having the connection to our screen and forgetting that, you know, being in community, being
[03:34] SPEAKER_02: outside, being connected to what is real is lacking in most of our lives sometime. Well, especially
[03:42] SPEAKER_02: now in our society. So we're feeling like, and our parents are becoming more busy.
[03:51] SPEAKER_01: And what's the impact of all this on the society?
[03:58] SPEAKER_02: Well, ultimately, the greatest impact is, you know, we're going to be seeing more and more young
[04:03] SPEAKER_02: people start to use different services, which means that, you know, when we're not being proactive
[04:10] SPEAKER_02: in our mental wellness, we're going to be utilizing more services as our young people are getting older,
[04:15] SPEAKER_02: which means more tax dollars, more, you know, pressure on our society as a whole, essentially,
[04:22] SPEAKER_02: and it's going to be more of a dilemma than anything. And was this whole issue exacerbated
[04:31] SPEAKER_02: by the pandemic? I think it always existed, to be honest, although I feel that we were able to
[04:40] SPEAKER_02: shine more light onto it over the pandemic. And we really, we really got a better look of what
[04:46] SPEAKER_01: people were actually going through alone. So what were you, before you got into doing this,
[04:54] SPEAKER_02: what were you doing? Well, I have a bachelor of education, so I was a teacher, and then I was
[05:01] SPEAKER_02: working in group homes as a counselor for quite a few years. Okay, yeah. What made you get into
[05:07] SPEAKER_02: that area, I guess, as a initially? You know, I was really, really, really fortunate in my life,
[05:19] SPEAKER_02: and unfortunate in a lot of areas. So for me, growing up with my mom was a teenage mom,
[05:26] SPEAKER_02: and she couldn't give me the things that I needed. She did the best she could with her resources,
[05:32] SPEAKER_02: and what she had in front of her, and how she was educated. She did the best she possibly could,
[05:38] SPEAKER_02: but what I needed was more than that. And I was really fortunate to have a lot of adult champions in
[05:44] SPEAKER_02: my life step up for me, whether it was my coaches, a mentor, my friends, parents, who really stepped
[05:51] SPEAKER_02: up for me in life, and were able to see something that, something in me that I might not have,
[05:57] SPEAKER_02: and helped me push forward to not really be a victim of my environment and be able to step into
[06:04] SPEAKER_02: the light really, and take a chance on me. So that was really important for me to be able to give
[06:11] SPEAKER_02: back and be who I needed when I was younger. So you, like from Calgary, like originally or?
[06:18] SPEAKER_02: No, originally I'm from Ontario, but I moved to Calgary for university, so I came out here when I
[06:23] SPEAKER_01: was 17, so a lot of years ago. When you look at the city itself, Calgary is known as a fast-paced
[06:35] SPEAKER_01: city, and GoGo and reach for the top type thing, is that? I don't know, in some ways,
[06:47] SPEAKER_01: it's hurt, you know, this whole issue, like in the sense that it puts a lot of pressure on people.
[06:55] SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah, I think it puts a ton of pressure on people, and we're forgetting what the idea of
[06:59] SPEAKER_02: abundance and success actually means and what it's defined as, and you know, for some people it is
[07:05] SPEAKER_02: having the shiny items, the big houses, all of those sort of things, and that's wonderful. If
[07:11] SPEAKER_02: that's your definition of success, but the rooted definition of success is joy, its connection,
[07:18] SPEAKER_02: its community, and those things when we're always searching for more, when we're always, you know,
[07:24] SPEAKER_02: busy, like logistically our schedules are full, we're providing all of these things where
[07:29] SPEAKER_02: everybody in our homes that, you know, sometimes what happens is our fundamental needs as humans,
[07:35] SPEAKER_02: being seen, her love, belonging, and safety are not fully being met as a community or as a family
[07:40] SPEAKER_01: unit. Let's talk a little bit about money, like how are you funded? That's a good question.
[07:48] SPEAKER_02: So right now we are an nonprofit society, we're not yet charitable, so we are really fortunate to
[07:55] SPEAKER_02: have a lot of backing in our community, so we're able to receive some community grants to be able
[08:00] SPEAKER_02: to move forward. We've been fortunate to have two government grants come through just this year.
[08:06] SPEAKER_02: You know, it's a lot of roots, our organization is really, really developed from the bottom up.
[08:15] SPEAKER_02: We started, we didn't start with a philanthropist, we started just with an idea, and it was able
[08:21] SPEAKER_02: to grow and slowly we're starting to be funded more and more every single year as people start to
[08:26] SPEAKER_02: learn about the impact that our organization is having on young people. So, you know, we're
[08:31] SPEAKER_02: hoping to be charitable in the next 18 months, so that will open some more doors for us.
[08:37] SPEAKER_01: And now you get, you know, I'm always curious about especially nonprofits, like how do you get
[08:43] SPEAKER_01: known out there? How do you get known to the people that you want to reach and help?
[08:51] SPEAKER_02: You know, you want to advertise, you want to market, but really how do you get a feeling across?
[08:56] SPEAKER_02: How do you market transformation? How do you do that? So it's really about word of mouth.
[09:01] SPEAKER_02: And it's showing up for one person and showing up for five people. It's not worrying about selling
[09:07] SPEAKER_02: out a class or how much money we're making in this area. Really, it's about just showing up and
[09:15] SPEAKER_02: the more that you show up, the more you're seeing the shifts and the impacts and young people wanting
[09:19] SPEAKER_02: to show up with you. So it really has been word of mouth for us to be honest.
[09:25] SPEAKER_02: And people believing in us. And people believing in the organization.
[09:32] SPEAKER_01: Now, when, curious, what's the name signify? Where is that?
[09:42] SPEAKER_02: Sure. So, the definition of a renda essentially means in a non, you know, we won't go the
[09:48] SPEAKER_02: dictionary route, but essentially it means that when we take the time to empower ourselves,
[09:54] SPEAKER_02: when we do the work on ourselves, when we fill our cup of, we essentially empower our community.
[10:01] SPEAKER_02: We then take that and we give it back into our community. So it's only when we provide those
[10:07] SPEAKER_02: essential things that we need to fill our cup up and power ourselves, then we're able to give
[10:13] SPEAKER_02: back to the community. It's almost like putting your oxygen mask on first.
[10:17] SPEAKER_01: Exactly. Yeah. We deal with a lot of entrepreneurs and
[10:23] SPEAKER_01: it's better on their like social, social, right?
[10:27] SPEAKER_01: What would you, you know, seeing some of the issues and stuff that you see out there with people,
[10:34] SPEAKER_01: what would be your best entrepreneurs about getting there out there, like there's a well-being
[10:41] SPEAKER_02: at those sides? Sure. I really think the biggest misconception in burnout and, you know, the go, go, go
[10:48] SPEAKER_02: is being too busy. And I think burnout is more about more than exhaustion. It's really about
[10:56] SPEAKER_02: disconnection. So it's disconnection from joy, purpose, play, even just our simple breath. So
[11:02] SPEAKER_02: it's learning how to be present when you're in moments of connection, present to the people that
[11:08] SPEAKER_02: you love. It's not having to earn your rest knowing that rest is essential to be productive.
[11:15] SPEAKER_02: And there's no earning to rest. You know, rest should typically come first, so then we can be
[11:20] SPEAKER_02: productive and, you know, make the changes or, you know, every entrepreneur has a deep passion
[11:25] SPEAKER_02: and purpose so that we can live in those passion and purposes if we're rested. You know, I'm a big
[11:31] SPEAKER_02: advocate for meditation and movement. So keeping yourself fueled is really important.
[11:38] SPEAKER_02: But mostly, I honestly think that most of it is, you know, staying connected, staying in joy and
[11:44] SPEAKER_02: being around people that you love, not only the work. Do on a personal level, it take care of
[11:55] SPEAKER_02: yourself. Well, I do some meditation. I really like, well, I don't love meditation. It's really
[12:02] SPEAKER_02: hard sometimes, but I know that it's essential and it's really helped me a lot. I run a lot,
[12:07] SPEAKER_02: so I'll go out for a run. I live on 15 acres of land, so connecting to land is really important to
[12:14] SPEAKER_02: me. I'll just go outside for a walk or have a fire. All of those sort of things turn off my phone,
[12:19] SPEAKER_02: have a family dinner. Just be present in the moments where I know I can be. It's hard. It's hard.
[12:26] SPEAKER_02: It's, yeah, I sound like I'm doing it all right, but I get it wrong. Majority of the time, you know,
[12:31] SPEAKER_02: the late nights of staying up or missing a dinner or, you know, forgetting that, oh, all I need to do
[12:36] SPEAKER_02: is go outside for a quick walk and I'll feel way better. But it's a practice.
[12:42] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what's your sense, you know, as I said, you deal with a lot of people, but what's your sense of
[12:49] SPEAKER_01: how people are feeling in general these days about, you know, about the economy and where we're going
[12:57] SPEAKER_02: and there's specifically here in Calgary. Well, I feel like, uh, we're gosh, well, especially right now,
[13:06] SPEAKER_02: I feel that a lot of people are confused. They're feeling down, misinformed,
[13:14] SPEAKER_02: on all, all ends. And I feel that we need to come back to our communities, honestly, and what we can do
[13:23] SPEAKER_02: for ourselves and our families and what's close to us, you know, they say that the more that you
[13:28] SPEAKER_02: fixate on what's wrong, the, and we're not doing anything about it or we're not living in, you know,
[13:34] SPEAKER_02: on our purpose or with joy or any of those sort of things that we're actually doing at disservice
[13:38] SPEAKER_02: to the whole idea of being disconnected. So I honestly think that, you know, right now,
[13:44] SPEAKER_02: there's a lot of negativity, but there's also a lot of positivity in it. It's really, like, you can
[13:50] SPEAKER_01: only control what you can control. Winder's a lot of anger out there. Yeah, there's lots of anger.
[13:58] SPEAKER_01: It's evident when you drive down to your foot. So I'm curious, uh, Jamie, when, uh, if, uh,
[14:10] SPEAKER_01: I'm someone that has money and wants to help, uh, help the chair, the nonprofit or if I'm someone
[14:18] SPEAKER_01: and needs help, how do I reach out and find you both? Yeah, thank you. You can reach us out,
[14:25] SPEAKER_02: we can reach out to us on our website is www.erendasociety.ca. Hello at erendasociety.ca. If you want to
[14:33] SPEAKER_02: email us directly or you can find us on Instagram, we're pretty simple. Arenda's society.
[14:39] SPEAKER_01: Well, thanks so much for joining us today. Yeah, thank you for having me.
[14:44] SPEAKER_01: Hey, that was Jamie Conroy, who is co-founder of Orenda Society. I'm Mario Tonic,
[14:50] SPEAKER_01: using managing editor of Canada's Entrepreneur with Caldwell's Podcast. Thanks for joining us today.
