Free The Children was founded in 1995 by international child rights activists Craig Kielburger at age 12. Sixty-three per cent of Free The Children’s funding comes directly from youth-led fundraising. The organization’s administrative costs are only nine per cent of total expenditure.

North American Programming: Free The Children has established more than 2,000 Youth in Action Groups (student-led fundraising groups) across the US and Canada, engaging more than 20,000 young people. Free The Children works with networks of schools across the United States and with leading school boards across Canada, providing educational resources, tools and curriculum to assist educators in introducing important social justice issues in the classroom. International Programming: Free The Children has worked in more than 45 countries and has built more than 500 schools in developing countries providing daily education to 50,000 children; Alternative income projects have directly benefited more than 23,500 women and their families in Africa, Asia and Latin America; Free The Children’s holistic development model, Adopt a Village, provides families and communities with education, alternative income, health care and water and sanitation. The Adopt a Village model operates in rural Kenya, Sierra Leone, China and Sri Lanka; More than 512,500 children and adults have benefited from Free The Children’s health centres and programs; Water programs implemented by Free The Children have helped 138,500 people gain access to clean water sources, improved sanitation and school latrines; Free The Children has shipped $15 million US in essential medical supplies to 40 countries.

National Me to We Day:

Supported by National Bank Financial, this one-of-a-kind event educates and empowers 7,500 youth for an exclusive year-long program to lead awareness and fundraising activities through Free The Children’s a Village program.

Global Voices:

weekly column, written by Craig and marc and published by the Toronto Star and in the Vancouver Sun, is supplemented by educator resources to engage young people about social justice issues by bringing the newspaper into the classroom.

Me to We Awards:

partnership with Canadian Living magazine, Free The Children recognizes Canadians who are making a difference in the lives of others. Craig and also write a monthly me to We column in Canadian Living magazine.