Benessere North (not-for-profit)
Benessere North (not-for-profit)
Elora, Ontario, Canada
Description

This is a start-up not-for-profit that helps women struggling with high blood pressure/ cholesterol, weight issues, diabetes, and many other chronic health concerns to prevent, suspend and whenever possible (which is often) reverse their chronic diseases, primarily by using the healing power of plant-based nutrition. We also incorporate the other healthy lifestyle pillars or habits.

Vivian Polak, MD, provides the coaching to the clients by way of courses and a women's community for on-going expert guidance and support. It has been enormously helpful to have a few people volunteer from time to time to help get the message and assistance out to the public - with video editing, marketing, website design, other IT support, etc.

Incidentally, my first undergraduate degree was in Business Administration (Western Univ, London ON), but after a few years of working in business I went to medical school, so I need lots of help with many facets of the nonprofit.

Number of employees
2 - 10 employees
Company website
https://vivianpolak.ca
Industries
Hospital, health, wellness & medical Non-profit, philanthropic & civil society

Recent projects

Healthy Eating Tracker Website

Benessere North, a not-for-profit organization, seeks to develop a mobile-optimized website that allows Users to track their daily food and drink intake for feedback by experts with a view to helping them reverse chronic diseases. The primary goal is to enable Users to log in, submit photos of everything they consume throughout the day, and receive feedback from designated Reviewers. Users should be able to add comments or notes to their submissions, providing additional context for their dietary choices. Reviewers will have access to view each User's photos, organized by time of day and date, and will provide feedback on the user's dietary habits. This project aims to create a user-friendly platform that encourages healthy eating habits through personalized feedback. It should ideally be compatible with deployment on Cloudflare using Github - because my website is currently on Cloudflare and uses Github for the storage of the source code for the site. Other types of tech we would like the students to use include Sveltekit, Tailwind, and Daisy UI. These are what we are currently using for my website, so it will make it easier for my tech people to maintain the software the students develop.

Admin Vivian Polak
Matches 1
Category Website development + 4
Open

Video creation/ editing for Social Media for Benessere North

The main goal for the project is to create and/or edit reels and shorts to continue to build an audience and email list for Benessere North, a nonprofit which helps women with chronic health conditions to optimise their health and often reverse chronic diseases through transitioning their nutrition. This involves several steps for the students, so it includes primarily the first three points and may also include the last two, depending on the students' needs: Helping this women's nonprofit to build a YouTube presence. Creating two 20-second video advertisements for the nonprofit's free info session and for a free course to get started eating plant-based. To be posted on social media. Creating engaging and informative content related to plant-based nutrition and chronic health conditions. Editing videos I have created to post as shorts on YouTube and reels on IG and FB, etc. [Analyzing the effectiveness of the social media strategy and making adjustments as needed.]

Admin Vivian Polak
Matches 2
Category Branding & style guides + 2
Open

Email Marketing Project to Help Women Switch to Plant-Based eating for Best Health

The main goal for the project for this not-for-profit organisation is to build automated email marketing - using high-value emails that then lead the women with high blood pressure and weight issues (and other chronic diseases) to the paid Women's Health Hub Community membership. This will involve editing an already-existing free educational email course (which currently has no pitch but is just a helpful course), creating or suggesting the creation of other free offerings, and possibly also editing a digital 5-module course to help women get started eating this way. The students will be required to add/edit a "non-salesy", highly ethical pitch that will lead those appropriate for it to purchase the membership for on-going expert guidance and support in a community of women worldwide.

Admin Vivian Polak
Matches 1
Category Product or service launch + 4
Open

Expansion Strategy for Benessere North

The main goal for the project is to help Benessere North define and develop an expansion strategy for their not-for-profit organization. This will involve researching and analyzing potential markets for their health and wellness services, particularly those emphasizing plant-based diets. The project will also involve assessing cultural attitudes towards plant-based nutrition and health, as well as the regulatory environment in target countries. The ultimate aim is to provide recommendations for the client's business growth plans.

Admin Vivian Polak
Matches 1
Category Product or service launch + 1
Open

Latest feedback

Muchuan Yang
Learner
April 21, 2025
Project feedback
Working with Benessere North on the “Enhancing Women’s Health through Plant-Based Nutrition” product launch was a highly rewarding experience. Under the leadership of CEO Vivian Pollack, the organization demonstrated a clear commitment to community-centered, sustainable innovation. Vivian’s guidance was both strategic and empowering, allowing our team to meaningfully contribute to the campaign while gaining practical insights into nonprofit-driven health initiatives. Throughout the project, the Benessere North team was collaborative, well-organized, and responsive to ideas, making it easy to align on shared goals. I appreciated the opportunity to engage in real-world problem solving, especially in the context of promoting women’s health through sustainable nutrition solutions. This experience strengthened my understanding of how mission-driven organizations can create measurable impact through thoughtful partnerships and evidence-based messaging. I am grateful for the opportunity and would highly recommend working with Benessere North to anyone passionate about health equity and sustainable development.
Cape Breton University
Solutions for Sustainable Development - Winter 2025
Cape Breton University
Benessere North (not-for-profit)
New Product Launch for Women to Transform their Health with Plant-Based Nutrition
Benessere North (not-for-profit)
Ambrose Igbojionu
Learner
April 20, 2025
Project feedback
Overall it was a wonderful experience for me and my team members working with RIIPEN. I gain a lot.
Cape Breton University
Solutions for Sustainable Development - Winter 2025
Cape Breton University
Benessere North (not-for-profit)
New Product Launch for Women to Transform their Health with Plant-Based Nutrition
Benessere North (not-for-profit)
Maya Giorbelidze
Maya Giorbelidze
She
Assistant Professor
April 18, 2025
Project feedback
It was great to work with Vivian. She dedicated her time and effort to meet with students, guide them through and then share her reflections. Greatly appreciated
Cape Breton University
Solutions for Sustainable Development - Winter 2025
Cape Breton University
Benessere North (not-for-profit)
New Product Launch for Women to Transform their Health with Plant-Based Nutrition
Benessere North (not-for-profit)