Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a very special group of young people who have made Halifax proud. In 2008, Hope Blooms was founded by Jessie Jollymore to engage youth in a community project. Six years later, the group has grown to 43 kids who have turned an abandoned lot in Halifax's north end into a thriving community garden and a social entrepreneurship business making delicious salad dressings they sell at the farmers' market.
Members may have seen them when they appeared on Dragon's Den recently. They were awarded a $40,000 investment to expand their business and build an organically heated greenhouse so that they can work year round. In adversity, these kids only saw opportunity, and they have shown all of us that when we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.
Hope Blooms has inspired me with their ideas, their enthusiasm, and their hard work, and they made the dragons cry. They have truly succeeded in making hope bloom in Halifax. Congratulations, Hope Blooms.