The Sandbox Centre is not a social enterprise itself, but it plays a large role in supporting social enterprise. The organization creates a domino effect; they start by benefiting one business and then that business goes on to benefit others. As this process continues, different kinds of businesses create endless possibilities for benefits and social good.
“Sandbox helps people build lives through business. We connect PEOPLE & their IDEAS to business resources; where guided collaboration and sharing of collective knowledge support their journey to success!” – Mission Statement
Sandbox was created in order to meet a need in the community- the need for better resources, supports and connections for businesses. The founders discovered that people were looking outside of their community when they could have connected with resources locally. Sandbox created the space for people and businesses to work together and receive resources and support. With the connections Sandbox has created they are able to help businesses fill the gaps and even show them new opportunities.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a list of global goals the United Nations wants to meet in making our world a better place. Sandbox is working towards these goals in their own way. The first is Gender Equality as they have dedicated part of their organization to support women. One example is their 2021 Trade Accelerator Program with a leading cohort compromised of women, as well as events, programs, partnerships and blog posts dedicated to women in business. Sandbox also aligns with Decent Work and Economic Growth as this organization exists to help people build businesses, therefore helping to create decent work and economic growth in the greater community. There are ties to another goal, Partnerships for the Goals, because their work is based on partnerships and connecting people. In one way, I would argue that Sandbox connects with all of the UN Sustainable Development Goals because they are continuously helping people to build businesses and each of those businesses has their own positive impact on society.
The connections and partnerships Sandbox helps create is based on the idea of relationships. As a Child and Youth Care student I am familiar with this principle. One of the main practices in Child and Youth work is relational practice and we believe you need to form a relationship in order to provide further support, as the relationship increases the benefit. Sandbox sees the need for relationships in business and strives to create them. They use relationships to connect people with resources and supports to achieve their mission.
