>Free The Children has two founding missions. Inspired by the life and death of the young child slave Iqbal Masih, we work internationally to free children from poverty, exploitation and all forms of abuse. The second part of our mission is closer to home. When 12-year-old Craig Kielburger started to follow in the activist footsteps of Iqbal, he created an organization to empower a movement of children helping children, and youth helping youth.
Craig initially set out to contribute to the efforts of other organizations who were working on youth and development issues. He wasn't looking to start a charity and couldn’t even imagine that his efforts would eventually lead to the creation of the world's largest network of children helping children. After several calls to many human rights organizations, he was surprised to discover a few things. First, that many of the organizations he talked to didn’t seem to know much about child labour or children’s rights. Second was that although many of the organizations’ missions were entirely youth-focused, they were entirely adult driven and lacked an appreciation for how young people like him could support their efforts. There were no young people involved in any of the organizations he reached out to. One organization’s attempt to find a way for Craig to contribute involved him finding his parents’ credit card and making a donation!
At the time, youth activism had yet to come into its own. A more broadly inclusive approach to children’s issues had yet to appear on the agenda, let alone become a priority. Children’s interests were almost always represented by adults, and young people’s voices were rarely acknowledged. In those days, the idea of children helping children was practically unheard of. As children speaking out on children’s rights, Free The Children was an oddity. In the early days, few decision-makers were willing to listen to what Craig had to say, and fewer still were supportive. But, shouldn’t other children be speaking out in defence of children? With adults unwilling to get involved, Craig, tired of only speaking to organizations run by adults, began to make connections with the one group of people he knew would understand: other young people.
Free The Children is proud to present this independent, evaluative study completed by Dr. Kathleen Korgen, professor at William Patterson University, and her partner Jeff Korgen. This extensive study evaluates the effectiveness of our youth programming. The study was conducted in close collaboration with students, parents, teachers and school board administrators.
We at Free The Children are pleased to present this document and the findings presented within in. Key highlights include that, as a result of participation in Free The Children programs and activities:
Watch the Local Action Video
From Free The Children’s humble beginnings as an organization by children, for children, has emerged a passion for creating a generation of active global citizens. Through programming delivered by our offices in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, we work to free children from the idea that they are too young to make a difference. Instead, we help them to realize their full potential as compassionate and active members of their local and global communities.
We work as educational partners with schools, families and children, providing an array of services that educate, engage and empower young people as agents of change. Regardless of a young person’s age, abilities or interests, we have a way to capture their attention and encourage their participation.
Our Resource and Curriculum Development team works with teachers and media partners, such as the Toronto Star and Vancouver Sun, to create weekly curriculum resources that make world events come alive in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. More than 5000 educators from Canada, the US and around the world have signed up to receive the resources for their classrooms.
Our family of youth programming coordinators provide mentorship and guidance to young people to take action on any social issue, and they are always available via in-person visits and by phone, email, and, of course, Facebook. This team supports more than 3500 school and community youth groups with resources, ideas, troubleshooting and celebration of their accomplishments.
Our youth leadership team visits schools to deliver motivational speeches to entire student bodies, followed by workshops with key student leaders to help them to identify their passions and to create action plans. The tours inspire and educate students on relevant topics such as volunteerism, active lifestyles and healthy eating, bullying and more. The facilitators use the Take Action book series as a curricular resource, including the 7 Steps to Social Action, which guides students from start to finish on any issue on which they may choose to focus.
Our We Day team brings together an incredible line up of social justice speakers and musical artists as a celebration for over 65,000 students from more than 2000 schools. Speakers introduce students to a broad range of issues, such as the environment (Former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore and UN Messenger of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall), peace building (Nobel Laureate Betty Williams and Palestinian medical doctor, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish), and social justice (National Chief Shawn Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations and Nobel Laureate Dr. Elie Weisel), among many others. The event is accessible to all schools with no admission fee other than a commitment to undertake one domestic and one international service action that same year. We are also able to offer a live webcast of the event to all schools around the world so that all young people may participate, regardless of their location.
The We Schools in Action program is launched by We Day and supports students throughout the year as they identify, plan and implement their two actions. In addition to resources and supports mentioned above, such as motivational speeches and the mentorship of a youth programming coordinator, we offer in-service trainings across Canada to teachers and students. Teachers are trained on the pedagogy of social justice and new approaches to student engagement, while students develop their skills to plan and lead social action in their schools. Teacher training is supported by lesson plans to support curriculum, including resources tailored for Catholic schools.
Our Halloween for Hunger and Local Spotlight campaigns promote learning and action on pressing local issues. Each campaign is accompanied by lesson plans to help teachers to bring the issues into the classroom. In 2010, 585 schools raised 485,000 pounds of food for food banks in Ontario through the Halloween for Hunger Campaign. In 2011, Free The Children has partnered with the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative to shine a spotlight on Aboriginal education.
Watch the GO Local Video
Our Adobe Youth Voices (in partnership with the Adobe Foundation) and GO Local programs work with dozens of underserved middle and high schools to promote student voice and action on local issues, empowering them with training, resources and opportunities to build connections and make a difference.
Our Life in Action program works in elementary schools to encourage students to eat healthy, maintain an active lifestyle and practice social responsibility—eat, play and care. It also helps to empower students as leaders at a young age by equipping older students to motivate and train the younger students, creating peer-based networks for positive action within the school.
In almost every case, Free The Children is able to offer its programs free of charge thanks to the support of funders who share its belief in the importance of youth citizenship. Where fees are necessary, such as in the case of the Take Action! Academy, a summer social justice leadership camp, we are able to provide scholarships to a large proportion of participants to enable any young person to participate, regardless of their circumstances.
Every year, our staff supports young people to engage in over 1 million hours of service. Imagine the impact that 1 million hours every year has on food banks, anti-bullying campaigns, peer support lines and countless other causes! More than 100 local and global causes of every form imaginable receive the support of students participating in the We Schools in Action program each year. In addition, the more than 3500 Free The Children groups around the world engage in a variety of local and international service actions.
For many youth, global issues, like poverty and children’s rights, spark their passion. Through the Adopt a Village campaign these young people provide education, clean water, health care, alternative income projects—a sustainable development program helping communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America to break the cycle of poverty. Along the way, young people in the developed and developing countries are connected through partnership, solidarity and friendship, fostering a lasting commitment to active citizenship.
Regardless of the issue students and educators identify as most important to them, they are themselves changed by the act of learning and taking action, as evidenced by the testimonials below:
" My grade 8 class has transformed from a group of disparate individuals into a community of cooperative, empathetic, global citizens. The class reputation was one of disrespect, attitude, and negative behavior. Now they are viewed as true leaders, and receive regular praise for their outstanding turnaround and accomplishments. They have taken the lead on developing a social identity for our school…This class has come so far, I am so proud of not only their accomplishments, but the outstanding individuals they have become. On field trips, educators that work with our class always comment to me their remarkable behavior. They tell me about horror stories of dealing with intermediates, and mention this group is special. I tell them luck has nothing to do with it. They've bought into the messages of We Day and inclusion, respect and community, which I’ve delivered from day one, and the results are extraordinary. "
Teacher, Roseneath Centennial Public School, Roseneath, ON
" My class has begun to see themselves as a part of a greater whole. Subjects and lessons take on greater meaning and relevance for them. They have a focus and a funnel for their passion and enthusiasm. They often tell me "I never knew that!" and then they jump into action. I have seen children become strong leaders showing maturity, initiative, confidence, and compassion. They see they are not alone. They see they are fortunate. And they see they are responsible for making the change! "
Teacher, Forestview Public School, Niagara Falls, ON
" I felt like I could make a difference in the world. Now when I go shopping, I actually think about what I buy. It has also changed my family...we recycle everything possible and are more cautious of what we buy. We think because we are small, no one will listen to us, but our voices are large...We are the children and the future is ours. "
Student, Cindrich Elementary, Surrey, BC
Free The Children is fortunate to have excellent advisors from all sectors on its board of directors, including several experts in education and youth engagement. They include Mary-Eileen Donovan (former superintendent with the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB)), Dr. John Gaither (former principal with the TCDSB), Gerry Connelly (former Director of Education of the Toronto District School Board), and Dr. Jonathan White (professor at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts).
Each of these individuals has a “youth first” approach, serving as our guides to ensure that children and youth remain at the core of our model. Youth are also involved in the governance of the organization; Free The Children’s Board of Directors includes a youth advisory committee made up of youth between the ages of 13 and 18 from around Canada and the USA who advise the Board on all matters, not only those directly impacting youth. In addition, see below for a letter from our youth advisory committee.
Free The Children regularly consults teachers, parents and students on programming at all stages of development and implementation.
Please click here to download an independent review of Free The Children's curriculum and youth programs.
Dear Free The Children Family,
Please allow us to introduce ourselves. We are the current members of the Youth Advisory Committee of Free The Children’s Board of Directors. It is such an honour to be able to serve Free The Children in this role since each of us is passionate about helping to empower other young people to change the world!
Though we have a lot in common with one another, we also have very diverse backgrounds that help us to bring different perspectives to the table. We are American and Canadian, ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old, male and female, and from all different walks of life. We have all been involved in every different aspect of Free The Children’s youth programs over many years. This includes everything from having attended Free The Children’s inspiring events and programs, participated in Free The Children’s incredible trainings, volunteered in Free The Children communities overseas, and taken action with our schools, friends and families to “be the change” we all want to see in the world!
We are proud to be the current torch-bearers in keeping Craig Kielburger’s founding vision and core values alive in all we do. Our role as the Youth Advisory Committee of the Board is to be the voice of young people and to ensure that youth remain at the forefront in every level of decision making. What an honour, and what an incredible organization to truly value youth as the leaders of today!
As members of the Youth Advisory Committee, we attend and participate in all Board meetings and we regularly communicate with the organization to provide feedback on youth campaigns and activities. We use our experiences as Free The Children participants over the years to help ensure that Free The Children’s youth empowerment activities are always moving forward the organization’s mission—to help youth to change the world, whatever their passion may be. Sometimes this may be through fundraising, other times through awareness campaigns, and other times through volunteerism—but, it is important to share, the goal of our Committee and of Free The Children is to empower youth to engage in social change, be it through Free The Children or other opportunities and to find their own passions.
We take the responsibility of representing our peers very seriously, and we know how lucky we are to have been selected to fulfill this important role. That’s why each of us applied to be a Youth Advisory Committee member and why we volunteer so much of our time—because we believe deeply in Free The Children and in the important role of a strong youth voice and presence on all levels of the organization! If youth or adults have any questions about the committee and our role, please e-mail us at youth@freethechildren.com. Your email will be directed to us, and it will be our pleasure to respond.
Be the change,
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| Drew Descourouez | Ela Hefler | Josh Church | Michael Rzeszutek |
 
Youth leading global change is the movement of our time. We Day is the manifestation of this movement. 
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Free The Children believes in a world where all young people are free to achieve their fullest potential as agents of change.
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Me to We is an innovative social enterprise that provides people with better choices for a better world.
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