Who's Who Better Business Bureau

4 BBB MAGAZINE Who's Who Special Edition T he Better Business Bureau of Manitoba and Northwest Ontario is making history as the first organization of its kind in Canada to launch its own charitable foundation. Len Andrusiak serves as the president and CEO of the local Better Business Bureau as well as the secretary for its charitable foundation. He began to research educational programs when he took over the BBB operation in February 2014, following up on board discussions about the importance of youth education. Through his research, Andrusiak discovered the Denver/Boulder BBB organization offered a program called LIFT, which is not an acronym and signifies lifting young people to a higher level. It's designed to help build an honest and trustworthy workforce for tomorrow. "LIFT is a business ethics certification program delivered to high school students from Grade 9 to Grade 12. It focuses on what is ethics and different types of ethical decision-making, taking three approaches into consideration: the virtue approach, the justice approach and the utilitarianism approach," he explains. "Then we go into the five steps of ethical decision-making. The importance here is helping youth understand that making good decisions in their lives can set them on a good path to success." Andrusiak presented LIFT to the board of directors in February 2016. In the spring of 2017 and 2018, they ran pilot programs at several high schools in the Pembina Trails School Division. Then in April 2018, the foundation received charitable status independently from the Better Business Bureau. On March 31 of this year the foundation marked the end of its first year in full operation. "This program has proven to be very successful. We have gotten a lot of support from leaders in our community," Andrusiak says. "Our next phase is to continue to develop more curriculum pieces, which we are hoping would cover the complete spectrum of students from Grade 1 to 12 in collaboration with other educational initiatives." The LIFT program, which is available to communities throughout Manitoba and Northwest Ontario, consists of five 45-minute workshops. Last fall, the BBB also launched a condensed three-hour workshop for post-secondary students, newcomers, business employees and social agencies. One of the main focuses is the impact of personal branding. "Businesses know the importance of a good brand. Sometimes companies will get a celebrity or sports figure to endorse their brand. But if that individual makes a The Better Business Bureau's LIFT program teaches high school students about the five-step ethical decision- making process. SUPPLIED PHOTOS FOUNDATION HELPS GIVE YOUTH A LIFT BY JENNIFER MCFEE

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