CEO Benjamin Bakst and CFO Elliot Kazarnovsky, co-founders of Toronto-based developer Marlin Spring, have launched the Marlin Spring Foundation.This non-profit organization is dedicated to supporting groups with youth-focused mandates in three key areas: Education, mental health and youth programming.
Left to right, Marlin Spring Co-Founder and CFO Elliot Kazarnovsky; Marlin Spring Foundation Executive Director Shayna Haddon; WE Charity Co-Founder, Craig Kielburger; and Marlin Spring Co-Founder and CEO Benjamin Bakst.
"Since we launched our real estate business five years ago, we have been dedicated to giving back to the community," says Bakst. "Now, we will be supporting the greater community on a broader level. Our mission is to create lasting change for those that are the most vulnerable, yet have the most potential – our children.""We will accomplish this in three ways," adds Kazarnovsky. "First, as an international company, Marlin Spring is experienced in various business development initiatives. Through the Foundation, we will work with organizations to offer strategic direction on planning, budgeting and outcomes to achieve optimum success. Essentially, we will utilize our business as a resource in the partnership. The second is through corporate and individual donations, and the third is through volunteers who help facilitate our programs. We take our tagline 'Together we could change the world' very seriously."The first partnership is Marlin Spring Foundation's support of WE Well-being program, a new initiative from WE that empowers people of all ages with tools, resources and capacity building opportunities to promote and nurture their own positive mental well-being and the mental well-being of their community. WE Well-being takes a proactive approach based on evidence-based mental health prevention and promotion strategies, designed to build a foundation of awareness and taking action. The Marlin Spring Foundation will help deliver WE Well-being into Grade 6 classrooms across Canada. WE is a family of organizations that makes doing good, doable.marlinspring.com
