Free The Children - Campaigns

If we’re going to change the world, we’ve got to start in our own communities. Changing attitudes. Changing priorities. Changing the way we think about our world.

Where would you like to go?

free the children groups.

We have thousands of energetic and dedicated Free The Children groups around the world working together to learn about global issues, to fundraise for Adopt a Village, and to promote social justice and volunteerism in their own communities.

A Free The Children group can be formed by a group of students in school or by just a few motivated youth in the neighbourhood who want to take action.

To get the full support of Free The Children and the assistance of a youth programming coordinator, register your Free The Children group with us by emailing youth@freethechildren.com.

Free The Children groups encourage youth to carry out meaningful fundraising and awareness campaigns. Participants receive free resources to build their skills and one-on-one support from a youth programming coordinator at Free The Children.

Through the world-changing work and learning they undertake as a group, youth will grow as individuals and as global citizens, benefitting from:

Increased awareness of local and global issues
Empathy and compassion for others
Leadership skills development
Volunteerism and activism

The first line of action is to join one of our campaigns. Aside from the leadership skills developed within the group, the purpose of our campaigns is to raise awareness of important issues while raising funds to help people in need. The group’s hard work will directly affect their local community and/or communities overseas through the Adopt a Village program.

Accompanied by posters, stickers, action-planning and fundraising guides like The Spark, and more, each campaign makes a big impact locally and around the world. Our annual campaigns include:

Free The Children groups also have access to the following tools and kits for launching their own campaigns based on pillars of the Adopt a Village development model:

These fundraising experiences help motivate young people to take action and create opportunities for cooperation and unity among group members, building leadership skills while making the world a better place. What are you waiting for? Email youth@freethechildren.com to get started!

Visit the Youth page in the Get Involved section to access campaign materials as well as tools for getting educated and taking action.

Kick-start your world-changing actions with an FTC campaign! Follow these steps:

Choose the campaign you want to start first.

Form a Free The Children group to start your campaign off right!

Make in-class fundraising fun with our interactive campaigns. Here’s how you can get started:

Check out our issues library to pick an issue.

As a class, choose the campaign you want to start first.

Teach your kids that taking action can be fun with our fundraising campaigns.

Talk to your kids about starting a campaign at school or at home.

As a family, choose the campaign your kids want to start first.

Campaigns aren’t just for kids! You’re never too old to take action with an FTC fundraising campaign.

Choose the campaign that works best for your team.

Start a “donate a day of pay” program to get the ball rolling.

docu-drama calls attention to issues and solutions

Changing attitudes and behaviour

Students at Michael Power/St. Joseph High School in Etobicoke, Ontario, continued to harness their creativity to change the world. For the third straight year, the school’s Free The Children group created its own "docu-drama," a student-penned production designed to educate youth about social issues such as child soldiers and extreme poverty.

Beginning last summer, group leaders wrote the script, picked songs, and developed PowerPoint presentations. In September, the group divided itself into actors, singers, dancers, and stage crew, and then opened up auditions to the wider student body. But with almost 100 people involved, it was difficult at times to keep everyone on the same page.

“We had to literally stop after our first few run-throughs just to let people catch up to each other,” said then twelfth-grader Matthew Del Mei.

As the first performance approached in November, the group began putting up posters and making morning announcements to advertise. But one of the biggest challenges was convincing people to come.

“No one wants to come out and feel depressed, but it’s the exact opposite because we focus on how you can help,” said Matthew.

The first performance was a great success, convincing many more students to join the group. A second performance in April spread the word even further. Overall, the docu-drama added $8,000 to the group’s fundraising total, which, coupled with a Vow of Silence campaign and other events, brought the final total to a staggering $17,423—enough to build two schools in Ecuador.

“It really comes down to the students we have. They are a good bunch of kids and are highly committed to a great cause,” said educator Rick Centritto proudly.