INTERVIEW • WHY CAN'T A BUSINESS DO GOOD? // COMMUNITY, SMALL BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT

Aaron Cayer. Photo by Brian Garson.

Why can't a business do good?

This was a question Aaron Cayer and his partners asked themselves when they opened their first skateboard shop, Antique, in Ottawa in 2011. 

Since then, Antique has evolved into the newly launched Birling Skateboard Shop, and Aaron and his peers have founded The Ottawa Skateboarding Community Association (OSCA). They have built skate parks, donated skateboards, run skateboarding programs, and provided outreach to underprivileged youth, both here in Ottawa and as far away as Iqaluit, Nunavut. 

Aaron and I recently met at The Ministry of Coffee to discuss the above question, among other ideas related to entrepreneurship and charitable giving (and charitable doing). He is being honoured at the United Way Ottawa Community Builder of the Year Awards (CBYA) Gala this Thursday, May 18th. I caught wind of this news and I thought it would be a great time to tell the story of a local entrepreneur who is giving back to his community.

Aaron is receiving the GenNext award, which celebrates:

the work and impact of Ottawa’s next generation of community builders [and recognizes] a person or group between the ages 20 to 40 who inspires others in the community through advocacy, awareness, altruism, or action.

Before I get into more detail about why Aaron is being honoured with this award, allow me to provide a bit of context. I originally met Aaron when his skate shop at the time (Antique) hosted a collaborative event with Beau's Brewing Co. and N-Product. I remember this being a fun event, but what I remember most is meeting a very engaging couple who turned out to be Aaron's parents. Now, after having talked with Aaron about his background and the development of his social conscience, it is not surprising to me that much of this drive was fostered by discussions around the family dinner table. Also, quite fittingly, Beau's Brewing Co. is also winning an award (the award) at the CBYAs this year: the Community Builder of the Year Award. 

“Where should we go to help?”

With the launch of Antique Skate Shop (now Birling), Aaron and his partners wanted the business to succeed, but they also wanted to do something to help those in need. So, he asked his dad, a longtime volunteer with the Rotary Club of Ottawa South — "where should we go to help?". Allan Cayer suggested the Banff-Ledbury neighbourhood. 

It wasn't uncommon for Aaron and his family to discuss issues such as poverty, education, and healthcare, and how they could do their part to help create change. “I recall a lot of discussion around the dinner table about politics. Asking questions about why things were happening", said Aaron. These early conversations helped him identify that he could make a difference; to do what he could with what he knew and what he had to give.

So, the Antique team began with the one thing they knew well: skateboards.

At the time, Aaron thought, “the first step to me is, someone needs a board and I’m willing to give out boards." What began as a donation of skateboards to the underprivileged youth in Banff-Ledbury has now grown to the creation of skateparks in Centretown and Barrhaven; the 1Squarefoot fundraising initiative, the For Pivot's Sake and Girls+ Skate 613 programs, and an outreach trip to Iqaluit, Nunavut. 

Aaron's passion for skateboarding began when he was 13 years old. At the time, his family moved from North Gower to Ottawa. Skateboarding became a way for him to make friends at his new school. It all started when a group of kids at his new school asked him, “Do you skate?” and he said “Sure!”. 

“I should be so blessed that the only thing I had to deal with growing up was moving to a new school. So many kids are dealing with so much more."

When he was 16, Aaron's passion for skateboarding and his social conscience merged, when he lobbied for more skateparks in the city after he was issued a ticket for skateboarding. “I fought the ticket, went to court, and won.”  

He still possesses a fierce energy towards creating change when it comes to social issues, and he and his business partners at Birling and fellow board members at the OSCA want to shake things up and do what they can to create change and wake people up to carve out a new course away from the status quo. When I asked him what he would do if money was no object and he could really make a change in society, he admitted, “I feel deep down that it would have to be something drastic. It would likely get a lot of resistance because of that." 

Aaron believes it’s important that people engage in helping those who need it in Ottawa. “One in five people in Ottawa work for the government, have stable jobs, live in comfortable areas. Why would they go to Banff-Ledbury? For many of them, unless they have a personal connection, communities like this are not on most peoples’ radar.” 

“We know what a neighbourhood lacks — it’s education and healthcare. We are stepping in to help with those two things in the way that we can, using what we know, which is skateboarding.” 

Aaron explained, “research shows that summertime is a huge factor for youth — kids that come from middle to upper-class backgrounds go to summer camp and do activities in the city. Kids that come from lower-class backgrounds do nothing. This affects their education moving forward. By providing these skateboard programs, we are doing our part to affect change.” 

Even before Antique (now Birling) started to give back, Aaron and his friends saw first-hand what skateboarding could do to change a person's life.

“If we can help our friend, this can happen elsewhere.”

Through skateboarding, Aaron met a friend who lived in an underprivileged neighbourhood with limited access to support and resources. “He was fun", said Aaron of his new friend. Through skateboarding, Aaron and his friends inadvertently ended up mentoring their new friend. Aaron himself even lent him the money he needed for his first semester of post-secondary education.

This planted a seed in Aaron's mind, “If we can help our friend, this can happen elsewhere.” 

Elsewhere began with Banff-Ledbury. 

“At first, all we did was give a skateboard and then walk away. Now, we don’t give them a skateboard until we can commit to six sessions with the youth to teach them in a group setting, get to know their names, and spend time with them.” 

To date, the Birling team and OSCA have helped youth in approximately 15-20 neighbourhoods in Ottawa by providing skateboards, building skateparks, and providing skateboarding programs for youth of all ages, genders, and abilities. 

In 2015, Aaron joined forces with others involved with For Pivot's Sake to provide a unique outreach program focused on art, photography, and skateboarding to underserved youth in Iqaluit.

“A journey of a thousand smiles starts with one push.” Aaron admits this quote is "cheesy", but he wholeheartedly subscribes to its philosophy. He and his partners at Birling are asking themselves the same question they did when Antique began. "We are asking ourselves again: what can we do better?" and they are motivated to use their time and skills to do as much as they can to help Ottawa's youth. “You’d be surprised what you can do with only an hour a day, or even an hour a week. That’s what we ask of our volunteers — an hour a week.” 

We circled back to the United Way Ottawa GenNext Award he'll be receiving this week, and Aaron's humility was evident:

"I’m very honoured and grateful to receive this award. That said, I think there are a lot of unsung heroes in Ottawa who do a lot more legwork and put forth a lot more elbow grease, for example, what about the person who's been serving soup at the Ottawa Mission for 20 years? I think their story would be equally if not more interesting and important.” 

This acknowledgment of others' good deeds is actually what brought Aaron to this award. His friend and fellow board member at the Ottawa Community Skateboarding Association, Chris Sheppard, emailed him and suggested he apply for the opportunity. This surprised Aaron when he read the award description, as he immediately thought not of himself, but of Chris, who, in Aaron's opinion, "is a real hands-on community connector and local supporter in Ottawa. He knows everyone and attends a ton of local events to show support and give back."

In an interesting twist, Aaron nominated Chris, unaware that Chris was nominating Aaron at the same time. 

“Maybe part of the reason I’m being honoured is because there are not as many NextGen people giving back. I don’t know. So many of us have our social media blinders on, and we only see what’s immediately around us, we only see people who are doing what we’re doing, or who agree with us. Are youth actually volunteering less? Or are the GenNext group of 20s and 30s just becoming more aware and realizing that at this point in our lives it’s a good thing to do? I’m not sure.” 

“They don't want skateboards -- they want anything.”

After listening to Aaron's story about why and how a business (and a group of skateboarders) can "do good", I realized that the skateboard is simply, and literally, the vehicle to something even more significant for the youth who are being helped.

 "The reality is", said Aaron about the youth, "they don’t want skateboards — they want anything. They would be stoked for breakfast.” 

When Aaron said this, it really struck a chord. For Aaron, skateboarding provided him with friends, and I can imagine, so much more. For the underprivileged youth in Ottawa, skateboarding can give them a skill, a positive activity, and productive time spent with someone who genuinely cares enough about them to ask their name, share a smile, and become their friend.

Aaron and his peers' work has evolved and continues to do so. “I wish we did more with mentoring. Over the years we’ve been working towards more of that. We’ve started talking to The Boys and Girls Club.”

I look forward to seeing the unique course Aaron and his partners, peers, and board members will carve out through the streets, skateparks, communities, and businesses in Ottawa. You could even say I’m “stoked” to see what Aaron does next.

United Way Ottawa, October 2017.