An Interview With Edward Sylvan
It’s a cause that’s always pulled on my heartstrings. One of my biggest fears as a mother too, while I’m very grateful to never have been in a situation without food or shelter. It kills me that there are people without food or shelter even in first-world countries. I see holes in solving the problem and The Lakoda Project will hopefully help to plug those holes to work towards finding permanent solutions for food insecurity and homelessness.
As a part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jen Gardiner.
Jen Gardiner in a nutshell is a “Jen-of-All-Trades”. In more technical terms she is a Film & TV Actor, Producer, Award-Winning Cake Artist, Talk Show Host, Founder of The Lakoda Project, Entrepreneur of over 18+ years and Mom of 5. Jen Gardiner started her first company at the age of 20 (CJ’s Cakes)just after her first son was born and eventually, the name transitioned to Sweet Treats By Jen. Jen started acting professionally in 2018 landing her first two lead roles right out of the gate. You can catch her on Amazon Prime in the multi-award-winning feature film The Taste of Blood and soon Martyrs- The Chronicles of Blood and I, Terrorist (2022). When she’s not acting or creating art out of cake you can find her hosting Coffee Chat with Jen Gardiner or working on The Lakoda Project (an initiative to tackle food insecurity and homelessness worldwide.)
Thank you so much for joining us on this interview series. Can you share with us the backstory that led you to this career path?
It all started in a Michael’s Craftstore. I ended up getting pregnant early in life and had my first son when I was 20. Going off to university to become a doctor had taken a pause due to the pregnancy. When I was off on maternity leave my Mom and I were in Michael’s craft store at the checkout and saw cake decorating classes (my mom used to make these really cool birthday cakes for me as a kid — my favourite was Raggedy Ann). We decided to sign up for something fun to do together. I ended up loving it and went through all the courses. Started getting orders from family and friends and registered my first company at the age of 20. That cake company led me to many opportunities including being invited back to do a monthly segment on Rogers Daytime TV once a month sometimes 2x a month. When that show went off the air, a producer who knew me, knew I liked doing acting and drama in school and suggested I should try out for this TV series that was looking for actors in Hamilton. I thought what the heck could be fun. I submitted for the role and got an audition by self-tape request. Went to Armstrong Acting Studios and got coached by Amos Crawley for the self-tape. Got an in-person callback. Booked the role that day for Isabella Watkins in I, Terrorist and then signed up for Intro to Acting at Armstrong Acting with Carly Street. A few weeks went by and the director and producer posted a casting call for a vampire series lead female role he was looking to cast. I thought no way I’d get it so didn’t bother applying. I ended up getting a message from him that he was hoping I would apply and if I was interested could I send him a quick video of me doing a Scottish accent. Except for joking around with my Dad who likes to do one, I’ve never actually done one. I remembered Carly Street was also a dialect coach and sent her a message. She coached me on the accent using the lines I needed to do. Submitted it and got an audition. I didn’t end up booking the lead but got the role of Pict Queen Modwenna instead. After that I thought “Hey I could really do this?” and so began my acting career. Something was still missing though. There was still a void. I have always wanted to help people and thought I was going to do that by becoming a doctor. I started taking a look at other actors like Kristen Bell, Chris Evans and Ryan Reynolds and how they use their acting careers to make a difference in the world and knew that’s what I wanted to do as well. I didn’t know quite what that looked like until one day the idea hit me for The Lakoda Project after seeing some holes that needed fixing in solving food insecurity and homelessness. It’s also always been a cause close to my heart so I knew I found my fit.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?
I keep getting confused in the online world with Jennifer Garner. Our names are really similar. She’s Jennifer Anne Garner and I’m Jennifer Ann Gardiner. So at first, it was just google confusing us when someone would google me her stuff comes up too. Then it started happening more and more on social media. An entertainment tabloid tagged me instead of her for a pregnancy announcement. I’ve had multiple people attack me thinking I’m trying to pretend to be her because of my name and my profile says I’m an actor. I’ve also had some nice occurrences where I’ve liked people’s posts and they got so excited thinking I was her or said some really nice things about her and tagged me by accident. I had someone on set after hearing my name say “like the actor?” meaning her. I said I am an actor but not that actor. It happens all the time. I also constantly get asked the question in interviews if people confuse me with her because our names are so similar. I used to have my social media name as @officialjennifergardiner and then changed it to @realjengardiner and it didn’t really make a difference. Think it’s just going to be an ongoing thing. I think it’s funny at this point and couldn’t ask to be confused with a nicer person.
What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
First, find what lights you up. That thing that you can’t stop thinking about, do it. You get one life so you might as well do what makes you happy. Secondly, don’t let roadblocks deter you from completing your goal. As we learn during “construction season” there’s more than one way to get to a destination. Also, be your biggest fan. Your mindset is the key to success. I actually think they should teach neuroscience in school because if people understood how the brain works and how important what they think and say to themselves is and how to create beneficial habits or change bad ones, it would make such a difference in so many lives. Third, do something everyday that helps with your mindset. Whether that’s meditation, reading, self-hypnosis, listening to podcasts. Whatever it is, just make it a consistent thing you’re working on because it’ll make all the difference. Lastly, don’t let not knowing how to do something prevent you from doing it. Figure it out as you go. The key is just to take the first step. Action usually leads to insight.
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?
My parents John and Laura Scott. My parents are the kindest, most selfless and bravest people I know. One time on the way home from the farm up north that was like our cottage there was a barn on fire. My Dad pulled over and told us to stay in the car. I watched him run up the laneway to help the farmer get the animals out of the building while my mom called 911. Another time he bought a wheelchair for a complete stranger who couldn’t afford one that my Dad had met when he was working as an engineer on a site so that he could get around. My mom has always been there to help me with my business since I started in 2004 without even asking despite having her own full-time job. I told my Mom that a couple of my kids’ friends’ guardians were having trouble feeding their children and that my children wanted to do a grocery run for them. My mom showed up at my place with a whole trunk of food for them. Those are just a few of the many, many stories I have like that of them. I am very blessed and grateful to have them as my parents as role models and instill those values of helping people in me.
How are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you’re working on right now?
The main cause I’m working on right now is The Lakoda Project. The Lakoda project will be the most comprehensive resource site for anyone in the world to find out what assistance is available to them to help with food insecurity, homelessness and financial strain. Phase one is all about bringing awareness to existing programs and projects available to people across the world to help them. It will also include how people can help, who aren’t experiencing these things. The Lakoda Project will be evolving over the next few years. Phase Two — The site will feature experts to help get people out of needing assistance ever again. Phase 3 will have the Lakoda Fund to help those where no assistance is available to them. The resource site (phase one) is set to launch in March 2022. The project was named after my dog Lakoda. She’s a 6-year-old rescued German Shepherd. When I got her she was severely malnourished due to not being fed by her caretakers. Her name means friend. So thought she would be the perfect emblem for this amazing cause. I’m really excited to be working on this project and have tons of additional ideas for the project that might eventually come into fruition.
Can you share with us a story behind why you chose to take up this particular cause?
It’s a cause that’s always pulled on my heartstrings. One of my biggest fears as a mother too, while I’m very grateful to never have been in a situation without food or shelter. It kills me that there are people without food or shelter even in first-world countries. I see holes in solving the problem and The Lakoda Project will hopefully help to plug those holes to work towards finding permanent solutions for food insecurity and homelessness.
Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?
The Lakoda Project is still in development and I’ve just started sharing it on social media a couple of months ago. However, I can tell you a recent story of a man and his dog. I was picking my oldest daughter up from work one evening and I saw a man down on his luck with his german shepherd sitting outside of a store with a sign that he needed food or money. It was freezing that evening and instead of wrapping himself up in the blanket, he had wrapped his dog up to keep his dog warm. You could tell he really cared about his dog and that his dog really loved him. I wanted to help so badly. I drove my daughter back home and then went back out to the store. I grabbed him drinks, snacks, an umbrella because it was supposed to rain, dog food and dog treats and a reusable bag to put it all in and drove back to the parking lot hoping they’d still be there. I caught them just in the nick of time because they were about to leave to go home. I spoke to the man for about 15 mins and super nice guy. He said they were doing a lot better a couple of years ago and that he’s really trying. He was so grateful to get the items from me for him and his dog and immediately gave the dog a couple of treats. While I couldn’t help on a large scale that night I helped where I could at that moment in time and hopefully made their life a little easier for a bit.
Are there three things or are there things that individuals, society, or the government can do to support you in this effort?
Send information my way (Instagram @thelakodaproject or @realjengardiner). If you have a program or project that is helping with food insecurity, homelessness or helping people with financial assistance please send the information my way to include on the resource site. Secondly, share the posts on The Lakoda Project’s Instagram page right now that are highlighting ways for people to get assistance or how people can help. I’ve been adding flags to the top corners for people to tell which country the post applies to. Awareness is such a huge component in helping tackle this problem. Awareness for people to know there’s assistance available and awareness for how people can help. Lastly, I’m looking for experts to write blog posts or create free training sessions to teach people how to create residual income, get out of debt, create savings, stop living paycheck to paycheck, etc. If you would be interested in being one of those experts please send me a message.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r04foUDzjzk&t=6s
- You can’t take on a project this size on your own. You may have to start on your own but plan to add people in to help at some point.
- Approach everything you’re learning with “How this could work for me?” even if you don’t think it applies to you. When you do this you open yourself up to creative thinking and you find ideas, techniques or solutions that you would have never thought of before.
- Always leave yourself more time than is needed to do things. “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” — Parkinson’s law. I learned a long time ago not to book my day 100% because something will come up that I’ll need wiggle room for or some things take way longer than I planned.
- Always find the holes in the “funnel” of what you’re doing. Where along the path of the problem to get to the solution are there holes that need to be plugged?
- “Help One Person Every Day” — Jen Gottlieb & Chris Winfield. If you focus on that it’ll take the overwhelm out and you’ll help at least 365 people a year.
You’re a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Expanding on my tip 5 from things I wish I knew…Some mentors of mine (Jen Gottlieb & Chris Winfield) said something that really resonated with me back in September. “Help One Person Every Day”. If we all were to help one person every day, imagine the amount of positive impact we could create in this world. That would mean every human being would help at least 365 people a year.
Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote? And can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” -Mother Teresa I’ve always wanted to help people in a large way and for so long I was stuck on the how. I then figured out the how but it wasn’t possible to implement the large-scale version right away. So I found ways to start smaller and every time I do that I get closer and closer to casting larger ripples. Especially when you start working with others on the same task. Then you start to create waves.
We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Kristen Bell. She’s such a kind-hearted, admirable person and I have so much respect for her and all that she does. She’s using her career to make such a difference in this world. For example, This Saves Lives that she co-founded with Ryan Devlin, Todd Grinnell and Ravi Patel is helping to end severe acute malnutrition across the world. Helping End World hunger is a cause I’m also very passionate about and as mentioned earlier in the article have started The Lakoda Project to help with that cause as well. Would love to chat with her about how maybe The Lakoda Project could assist This Saves Lives make a larger impact. Would also love to chat with her about how she’s using her career as an actor to create multiple ways to impact the world in such a large positive way as I would love to one day be able to do that with my acting and entrepreneurial career as well.
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring, and we wish you continued success!
Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Jen Gardiner Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.