CANADA
May 2000
ONTARIO CANADA
8
- 11 Years Old
Ryan H.
Ryan was touched to leanr that children in Uganda did nor always have
fresh drinking water and could get very sick. He began to do chores at
home to save money to buy a Uganda school a fresh water well. Through this
action, he inspired his school and community to join him in raising funds
His efforts were rewarded as "Ryan's Well" is currently bringing fresh
water to Uganda students Now saving for drilling equipment, Ryan has already
raised almost half of the $25,000 needed.
Jon Paul C.
Jon Paul began collecting pop can tabs when he learned that it
would help to purchase a motorized wheelchair for a child. He challenged
his school with "Pop a tab for kids'' and developed an entire marketing
program to encourage other children to participate. Jon Paul expanded his
collection by setting up collection containers at church, a trailer park,
grocery stores, Bell Canada, four businesses and two nursing homes. Through
his efforts, his community has collected over 1.3 million pop can tabs,
contributing to the purchase of 38 motorized wheelchairs for children.
Nikita R.
Hoping to create awareness among other children about the homelessness
crisis in the city of Toronto, Nikita created a project called "2000 Ways
to Shelter the Homeless." Her ideas were used by the Toronto District School
Board to model a student conference on homelessness in January 2000. Nikita
is currently working on her 'Millennium Bear of Hope" campaign, in which
she hopes to sell 2,000 stuffed bears to raise $20,000 to donate to local
charities that help the homeless. Through her program, 2,000 children who
use homeless shelters will also receive a "Millennium Bear of Hope."
Jacob and Mathew B.
The brothers started their fundraising for Breast Cancer Research
five years ago, after their grandmother's friend was diagnosed with breast
cancer. They make and sell jewelry to raise money for cancer research,
and also wrote a book called "Let's Make a Difference" to encourage other
children to raise money for charity. The brothers have also organized "Children
for Charity'' craft shows, and have now raised more than $15,700. As Jacob
says, '"we raise money because we don't want women to suffer or their children
to be sad."
Karen C.
After meeting Vicki Keith at a Variety Village event, Karen was inspired
to use her swimming talent to raise money for a hospital being built in
Haliburton, where she spends her summers She asked people in the community
to sponsor her in a double-crossing swim of Lake Kashawigamog.. Her swim
raised more than $1,300 for the hospital.
Tyler S.
As a young person living with diabetes, Tyler hopes to find a cure fur
the disease "so some day kids like me won' be sick anymore.' He has raised
almost $7,000 for Diabetes Research through local walk and skate-a-thons.
Tyler says, "I hope to teach lids not to give up no matter what happens
to them.'
Amrita K.
Amrita lives in "the most multicultural city in Canada" and is working
to help other children appreciate and respect the diversity in their community.
She uses dance to educate others and has performed jazz and Indian dances
at many religious Festivals and special events. Amrita ''makes sure that
all children get involved in the group dance and nobody feels left out."
Dominique B.
During a family trip to Toronto, Dominique saw homelessness first-hand:
"It was cold … some of the kids looked hungry. Dad and I talked about why
people were homeless and how awful it must be to be cold all the time."
She decided to help by encouraging people in her community to donate clean
blankets, which she and her family gave away to the homeless in December.
Kyle C.
After visiting Malawi, Kyle "realized how poor everyone was."
Before a return visit, he raised money at his school for school supplies
for the children in a primary school n Malawi. Kyle's "Coins that Count"
fund raised more than $450, enough to help provide 28 children with school
fees and supplies, and has started a letter-writing program between people
in his community and children in Malawi.
Catherine L.
Catherine thought it was unfair that homeless people often only
get cold food to eat, and created a goal "for homeless people to have hot
meals." She saw a new kind of meal called ''Hot Packs'' that "cook themselves
like magic right in the box" and started a drive to get the food bank and
the mayor of her city to encourage others to donate thousands of' "Hot
Packs." Catherine is happy that her efforts have been successful ''because
floor people can get hot meals and use the heater in the box to stay warm
outside too."
Natalie L.
Natalie has performed as a guest vocalist at several charity fundraisers,
schools, nursing homes, and local events. Last year, she volunteered with
'Coats for Kids" at the Canadian Red Cross, and in January she began to
study sign language so that she can sing and sign for the hearing impaired-.
As Natalie says, "Everyone should be able to enjoy music."
Rebecca D.
Rebecca likes attending church and was saddened when she learned
that floods and storms had destroyed churches, and she decided to raise
money to rebuild churches so that others "can go to church again." She
cooked homemade, spiced nuts and sold them as a fundraiser. Her local church
is helping her to "find a church that is ruined to send the money."
Sarah K.
When her school lost its full-time librarian, Sarah volunteered
to be a library monitor. She also took special training so that she could
volunteer to be a "peacemaker" in dealing with bullies during recess. Sarah
has also spoken during Remembrance Day events, volunteers at a local group
home for the mentally ill, and leads singing at special events.
Ashley D.
After seeing news coverage of the 1998 Ice Storm in Eastern Ontario
and Quebec, Ashley reached out to her community and organized a relief
campaign to help those affected by the severe storm. local businesses,
parents, senior citizens and students donated items and motley, and Ashley
was interviewed by national media to help spread the word about the importance
of helping her fellow Canadians.
Michelle, Catherine and David * J.
At Christmas 1998, the Joyce family managed to get one Furby - the season's hottest toy. Together the children decided to donate the toy to the Ontario Provincial Police, who auctioned off the toy to raise money for children's cancer research. A local company bought the Furby, and donated it back to the pediatric ward of their local hospital. "It was one of our happiest Christmases,'' they said. The sisters and brother continue to raise money for research through yard sales and flea markets.