Top 3 Student Projects That Saved Lives

Most students get stuck with deciding what initiatives to launch or create. To help, we guide our students to:

1. Start with your own interests. What are you passionate about? What are social issues you deeply care about?

2. Look at existing projects for inspiration. Learn from others who have already built impactful organizations to give you clarity on what’s possible.

At Porte’s Impact Accelerator—the only 1-on-1 mentorship program designed to help students build impactful community projects—we've helped nurture incredible initiatives to life. 

Here are three standout examples from our alumni network to inspire your direction.

1: Jasmine - Donated 50,000+ Meals to the Houseless

Jasmine’s Story

Jasmine’s Project Idea

Based on her story with McDonalds, Jasmine had the idea to found GoGivers - a student organization which would address food insecurity in her community by hosting educational seminars and food distributions.

She began with a team of her close friends. Her team started by funding food for care packages out of their own pockets and visited areas regularly to distribute across the Downtown Eastside.

Jasmine’s Impact

Over the year, Jasmine worked with her mentor to exponentially build her initiative. She:

• Delivered over 50,000 care packages filled with food and essential supplies to the houseless community

• $18,000+ to fund additional initiatives 

• Engaged 800+ volunteers 

• Jasmine now attends Cornell’s Dyson School of Business 

• Jasmine has now returned as a mentor for the Porte Impact Accelerator to guide the next generation of students.

2: Ray - Assisted a Teenage Ukrainian Pianist From War

Ray’s Story

Ray’s Project Idea

Music had always understood been a core part of Ray’s life. He saw it as a way to heal and communicate without words. Using is musical background, Ray founded Thrive Refuge, a nonprofit that provides refugees with access to musical education.

Ray began to host charity concerts across his city to fundraise to support musicians who had become refugees by the war. His work spread across the city and he was connected with Sasha - a Ukrainian teenage pianist.

Ray’s Impact

• Hosted several charity concerts to draw over 1000 attendees

• Team efforts raised more than $40,000 to help refugee musicians continue their education and artistic development

• Secured $100,000 in scholarships to help a Ukrainian refugee escape the war and complete his studies in Canada.

• Sasha now studies at the University of British Columbia where he hopes to graduate with a degree in music.

3: Toby - Advocating for AED Implementation in All Vancouver Schools

Toby’s Story

Toby’s Project

Toby had to take action. He founded Students for AEDs - a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money for AEDS in Vancouver high schools to prevent lives lost from cardiac arrest. By hosting fundraisers around the city, speaking to local officials, and advocating in local policy meetings, Toby’s team purchased AEDs and has continued to push their district to let them install the devices across schools.

His Impact

• Toby’s student initiative successfully pushed the Vancouver School Board to unanimously pass a motion to fully fund and implement AEDs in all Vancouver schools by September 2025

• Fundraised $10K+ towards purchasing AEDs to be installed in schools

Jasmine, Ray and Toby are all students with incredible stories. Their projects and initiatives were borne out of their genuine passion about social issues that affected themselves/other arounds them.

Whichever initiative you are thinking of starting, make sure it stems from something you are passionate about.

To learn more about our Porte Impact Accelerator and how you can launch your own project, visit our program information here.

Student Resources