the story: Leigh Boyle was
first drawn to Swaziland in 2009
by a Vancouver entrepreneur
(and fellow evangelical) who had
established a charity to provide
loans in the tiny sub-Saharan
country. Boyle, then a recent
graduate of Trinity Western
University, was determined to
make a difference in the lives of
the people she encountered and
ended up fundraising from Cana-
dian donors for projects in Swa-
ziland and Ethiopia. In late 2011,
Boyle returned to Vancouver
and recast her efforts to address
the plight of sick children and
hospice patients. The venture
she started, the Lipstick Project,
works in partnership with hospi-
tals and hospices to provide free
professional spa services (estheti-
cians, hair stylists, massage
therapists) to patients in recovery
or approaching the end of their
lives. She also works as a devel-
opment officer for the United
Gospel Mission, where she
seeks out new mid-level donors
(typically small businesses) from
around the Lower Mainland.
Markers oF success:
The Lipstick Project has delivered
more than 1,000 hours of profes-
sional services to 480 clients in
the Vancouver area since the
charity was launched in 2013.
—Jacob Parry
L e i g h B o y L e
Founder and executiVe director ,
the liPstick ProJect
age: 27
the MotiVational quote
that gets Me going
"I am looking for a lot
of people who have
an infinite capacity
to not know what can't
be done" —Henry Ford
"A very close
mentor said,
'Above all just
make people
happy.' This is
a business, but
more than mak-
ing money it's
about making
people happy"
Best aDvice i've
ever receiveD
bcbusiness.ca april 2015 BCBusiness 31
