One of our office space for rent tenant, Green Lotus, is organizing the annual Donate & Learn Expo to help small businesses learn the latest online marketing techniques, while giving back to a great cause.
How did it all start? In early 2012 Bassem Ghali (Founder of Green Lotus) wanted to give back to the community in a big way. With his expertise and network of marketing professionals, Bassem wanted to create an online marketing workshop and bring the community together in support of a local charity. More than 220 guests attended the sold-out event and he raised close to $3,800 for the YWCA Toronto!
In 2013, the Donate & Learn initiative gained the support of GoDaddy. With GoDaddy as a major supporter, the Donate & Learn initiative grew. The Donate & Learn Workshop was sold out for a second time with over 260 attendees and another $4,185 raised for the YWCA Toronto!
Donate & Learn also gained the support of a top marketing expert in the USA, John Shehata (Executive Director of Search & Social, ABC News), who flew in from New York to show his support and was the keynote speaker at the May 2013 workshop, along with Sally Chung (Senior Account Manager at Google Canada).
“The Donate & Learn concept is simple and pure brilliance! We have all paid a fee to attend online marketing workshops and conferences in the past, but the idea of an event that is free with a donation supporting such a great cause, is just inspiring!” – ABC News Executive Director of Search & Social Media, John Shehata
The 2014 Donate & Learn Expo was held in partnership with Ryerson Enactus and the Digital Media Zone. The event saw more than 500+ attendees eager to learn from marketing experts at some of Canada’s leading corporations – including Proctor & Gamble, Bing Canada and LinkedIn. Expo Sponsors included the Canadian Association of Marketing Professionals, FreshBooks, YourHSA, Uniiverse, EasyPromos and TekSavvy who held the inaugural Meet the Experts session.
This year, you can join 400 of Toronto’s top entrepreneurs, business owners and online marketing professionals to learn cutting-edge branding, search engine, and social media marketing strategies for your business. You can learn how to boost your brand, increase your business leads and sales. You will also learn to effectively manage your online marketing budget. The Expo Agenda is complemented with helpful advanced workshops on SEO, PPC, e-mail marketing and much more!
Most importantly, this year the Donate & Learn Expo will be giving 100% of its donations to Enactus-Ryerson Project “Growing North” – an initiative that is providing affordable, sustainable food solutions for northern communities, ensuring that no one goes hungry.
Expo Sponsors include the Canadian Association of Marketing Professionals, Uniiverse, FreshBooks, YourHSA, EasyPromos (who each hosted a pre-Expo workshop) and TekSavvy who held the inaugural Meet the Experts session! Telsec is proud to be a Media Sponsor of this event.