A few years ago I was introduced to a young man who ended up changing the way I look at the world. His name is Craig Kielberger. In 1995, when he was twelve years old he read an article in his Toronto hometown newspaper about a twelve year old carpet worker in India, Iqbal Masih, who was speaking out against his former master who had kept him as a worker slave, chained to a loom. As Craig read this article he learned that the former master had killed this twelve year old boy. Craig, being a fellow twelve year old, living in middle class Toronto, couldn't believe that this could happen to someone his same age. In his innocence, Craig said, "I have to do something about this." And he did. He talked to his supportive school teacher parents, organized his school classmates, he petitioned his teachers and his local government. And, at 12 years old he took a seven-week trip to South Asia to visit child laborers. Soon he was in the Clinton White House and on Oprah making his case.
Craig organized Free the Children, now a global movement, along with other programs, under the destination of We.org. There are programs that allow teens to travel to emerging countries to experience their lives and to participate in Adopt-A-Village programs that improve lives through education, health care, sanitation, water and entrepreneurship. I traveled to Kenya with my family to experience this for myself and was both humbled and energized by the experience. We were able to spend time helping to construct a girls secondary school as well as participate in a water walk where we carried gallons of water on our head in the same way that the mamas do multiple times a day for their families.
We sat and threaded beads along with the mamas in Kenya as part of Me to We, where mamas in Kenya and Central America create artisan crafts that are sold in places like Nordstrom and PacSun, with the profits benefitting the mamas back in their countries. And, with a technological twist, with a code on the bracelet you buy, you can Track Your Impact and see who in the world benefitted from your purchase.
We Day is a program under the We.org destination where middle school and high school students can attend an all-day event where a diverse roster of amazement - Macklemore, Prince Harry, Desmond Tutu, Jennifer Hudson, Richard Branson, Hosier, among many others - share stories, songs and inspiration. The only way to get a ticket to this event is by donating hours of volunteerism. Well over 200,000 young people have attended worldwide and have generated more than $60 million in social value over the past year.
The recipient of this volunteerism is up to the student. I have attended several of these We Day events in the U.S. and Canada and generally am crying from beginning to end. These students have earned the right to be in that arena and arrive with the spirit of volunteerism, joy and helping others. They cheer on each other as well as those on stage. And the result lies not only on their faces but in the data.
80 per cent of We Day alumni continue to volunteer an average of 150 hours a year, 83 per cent donate regularly to charity and 79 per cent vote in the elections. 54 per cent start their own social justice campaigns, and 19 per cent create their own non-profit or social enterprise.
Look at those numbers, stunning really. Forgive me for gushing but, youth that go through these programs or attend a We Day are 2.7 times more likely to have started a non-profit, and are 3.9 times more likely to mobilize others to solve a social problem. They are 2.7 times more likely to actively seek opportunities to lead in front of others, and 1.6 times more likely to never let obstacles stand in the way of their goals. These are not only our future leaders, these are our current youth leaders.
I believe in this organization's power to change lives so much that I've joined the National Board of Directors and am focusing my efforts on creating awareness and fine tuning the brand work and power of this great organization. Another year of We Day events have begun in Canada and the U.S. Another year of opportunity to have our children participate, and for us to start doing and not just despairing.
And as Craig Kielberger said it's beyond "teaching one man to fish, but by training individuals to teach 10 others." Craig, and his brother Marc Kielberger lead a global organization that is focused on empowering a generation of youth to be active agents of change.
We have models to learn from, to be inspired by. And most of them are much younger than we are. What if we followed their lead and all gave the smallest percentage of our time toward helping others.
Craig and his brother Marc have this way of talking that is so gracious, so giving that it's infectious. When you hear anyone who works within their organization, they all have the same gracious cadence to their voice. And, as I have served alongside them I find myself speaking in that same giving tone to my employees and clients. They have made me a better person. I am young, I have much to learn.