CIVITAS SMILE BAGS #BeCommunity

The smile is in the bag :)

Our Story

Mission Statement

Our passion is to make a difference in our community. We are virtual grade 3 learners who partner with local entrepreneurs to offer a curated collection of items that are made in Ottawa.  The profits from our business will help support The Ottawa Mission and Furry Tales Rescue.



Welcome to Civitas Smile Bags

We chose the name Civitas Smile Bags because we are all about partnerships. Civitas means "community" in Latin. We offer a small gift bag of hope. In each bag you will both give and receive. Your purchase will support a grade 3 virtual class in learning how to make the world a better place. The profits from your purchase will go to charity. We want to help support the homeless and hungry in the city of Ottawa. Each bag contains a lip balm, a reusable cloth mask, a chocolate treat and a special message from us!

Our Product

Our Partners

Twenty20 Skincare is an Ottawa based business featuring natural ingredients from Ghana. Your purchase will help to support a female black owned business.


Cylie Artisans Chocolatiers is an Ottawa based business that focuses on the art of chocolate and pastry.  Your purchase will help to support a female co-founded business.


MamaDye is an Ottawa based business that makes custom made tie dye masks and more. Your purchase will help to support a female owned business.


Reviews and Testimonials

We are local and healthy to use.

My favourite part of our business was drawing the pictures for the messages of kindness.

Joey- grade 3

I am happy to be a part of this business and I am glad I learned how to start a business.

Kiersten- grade 3

I love being a part of this business because we help other people. We help to give food and shelter to those in need.

El-Ameen- grade 3

Review

I was so proud of purchasing three Civitas Smile Bags for three reasons!  Firstly, Ms. Somers invited me to her virtual class when she had one of the local partners (Twenty20 Skin Care) join the class so that this entrepreneur could share how she started up her business from scratch! I could see the students' engagement increase as the presentation moved forward because the class was going to be supporting this local business.  Secondly, the Social Entrepreneurship Program is highlighting the importance of our Deep Learning Framework and how it supports students in learning about "real life" situations. Not only are they learning about it, they are actively engaged in the learning and are true partners!  Finally, I personally loved the products that were in the bags.  As soon as I opened my bag, I ate the locally made chocolate (Cylie Artisan Chocolates) immediately!  Well done grade three students and Ms. Somers!

-Shelley Montgomery- OCSB Superintendent of Student Success, Elementary

  • We are creative and collaborative.

  • We share our ideas and get help to custom design our digital logo.

  • We want to make you smile.

  • #WFH

  • We package bags while we work from home
  • Messages of Kindness

  • Each bag has a message created by a student in our class

We are creative and collaborative.

We share our ideas and get help to custom design our digital logo.

We want to make you smile.

#WFH

We package bags while we work from home

Messages of Kindness

Each bag has a message created by a student in our class

Who We Support

Social Enterprise

We donate the profits from our business to charity. We researched a variety of social issues and decided that the homeless and vulnerable populations in our city need our help. We are donating our profits to help support the good work of The Ottawa Mission and Furry Tales Rescue.

Location

OCSB Virtual Grade 3 Student Business

Civitas Smile Bags
Ottawa, Canada

Local pick-up:

Corpus Christi Elementary

798 Lyon Street, Ottawa

OCSB Internal Mail Delivery is also possible. Please advise about your location.

Pick-up begins February 1st, 2021

Mon - Fri
9 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Get directions