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Wow! #WeDay Toronto was absolutely incredible!  From our host Darren Criss, to inspirational speakers, to performances by the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and many others, the day was filled with #WorldChangers. Check out our blog and lots more amazing photos here:http://bit.ly/TorWeDay2013

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Follow my Twitter account @manditouma to follow tweets about Free the Children!

Mandi

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We have the power to make a change in child rights.

Follow my Pinterest account to view pins on my Free the Children board.

Mandi

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For more personal posts about Free the Children and my We Day experience, such as videos and photos of We Day; follow: mandi2ma

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Had the pleasure of going to We Day last year and it is truly an inspiring place to be, to feel thousands of people in the same room supporting the same cause. It is truly amazing I would suggest that everyone spend the time to go at least once in your life. It doesn't even have to be We Day it could be any cause that's important to you, whenever there are people gathered in a shared cause, you become reconnected with humanity.

Yes, being surrounded by hundreds of people who believe in the same cause you do is very empowering. There were 20,000 children at We Day. Each child volunteered independently, and with their classmates not knowing how many others were doing the same. Once Free the Children gathers everyone together, the children can really see the impact of what each of their contributions did collectively.

Mandi

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After we read your blog, you have inspired us to want to join in on the movement of Free the Children by participating in next years we day/ me to we. We both strongly agree that children should be informed about their child rights and that we as Educators should empower them to fight for their right to have an education, clean water and food security. - Natalie and Lidia

That's amazing! You can sign up on we365 to track you volunteer hours and even pick a cause to fight for, such as international health.

Mandi

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I love the message of going from me to we because as we all work together we can make changes for the better. It is inspiring from such a young age Craig Kielburger decided he wanted to do anything he could to effect change. Free the children is great because it gets more children involved showing that they can make a change no matter what age or grade they are in ,that they can create change. I can see that it is already making a difference seeing how many children go out to We Day in Toronto.

We Day is a great incentive for children to participate in fundraisers and volunteer their hours. Some groups continue working hard so that they can come back and experience We Day every year!

Mandi

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It's always amazing what children can do when they are just provided with the smallest room to do so. I know there are many factors that help children do such awe-inspiring things, but what really stands out is likelihood that there was at least 1 person who didn't tell Craig that what he wanted to do was impossible. If only every child had at least 1 who would support even their wildest dreams - sometimes that 1 can come in the form of something bigger or inspiring, like this.

Absolutely! A strong supportive community can take a vision far, but even one person alone can give the best confidence boost and helping hand. Do you know of anyone starting a local initiative? Maybe a food drive for thanksgiving? Let me know, Id be glad to volunteer and post to advocate for more support on my blog!

Mandi

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Just read your post about we day. I was wondering do you have to be affiliated with free the children or we day volunteering to earn a spot to we day? Or can you volunteer with other organizations and still be invited? If so, how does free the children find you and recognize your efforts if you are not affiliated with them?

Thank you for your great question! The wonderful thing about We Day is each attendee has earned their ticket through fundraising and volunteer service that they put towards a Free the Children initiative for one local and one global cause. Free the children just introduced a social platform called we365 where volunteers can track their hours online so that there is no longer misplaced volunteer forms.

Check it out here! its easy to sign up.

Mandi

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I made a trip to Ecuador at the end of April this year with Free the Children/Me to We. Being a part of the change, made me realise how, not only other people lived and desperately needed our help but also how open they are for help. A term I was introduced to while in Ecuador was the word "minga". It means a community working together for the benefit of others. It brought on a whole other aspect of my time there and I grew to appreciate the people and the work I was doing much more.

That's incredible stuff! Thank you for sharing you're Me to We experience Kelly-t. What global initiative did you help with in Ecuador and what roles did you play?

Mandi

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First I want to thank you for your reply. It is nice of you to respond back and giving your thought. Sure I will encourage my friends and family about these social issues that going around the world and how Free the Children helping. It is true we all have to work together in the team to solve the problems that having again the children. Luxshana Maheswaran

Thanks for your support!

Mandi

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Follow up We Day interview

On Friday I made a wonderful visit to St. Malachy's Catholic Elementary school in Scarborough to have a discussion with a small group of grade seven students about their personal We Day experiences and insights. Below I will share key highlights of our conversation.

Q: What motivational speaker stood out for you?

A: Molly Burke. Her story was very inspirational. She helps give kids a voice.

(Quick background info: Molly Burke was bullied for having vision loss. She now uses her story to inspire others to overcome bullying).

A: Demi Lovato. Her song was so powerful. I like Demi Lovato because she gave the message that if people can knock you down, you can just get back up.

A: Martin Luther King Jr. III. He wanted to be like his father, to stand up and speak out against racism.

A: Chris Hadfield. If people have been in space, nothing is impossible.

(Col. Chris shared my favourite statement of the whole event. He said, "We all share the same earth. We are all connected. A connected universe without borders... Focus on your life and talents, they will guide you. Every single day is preparing you for what is to come in your life. The sky is not the limit, it is just the beginning. The sky is just the threshold to the stars.")

Q: If you could share one key message with the world what would it be?

A: Think WE, pass it on. It means to not think of just you.

Q: What kinds of social injustice do you see happening in your community?

A: Some people don't have enough food and there is still bullying, especially cyberbullying. Its very easy to re-blog someone's personal information like their picture.

A: Bulling starts when someone's talents are misunderstood. For example if you are really strong, you can use that to hurt someone and then others will be scared of you.

Q: What leadership roles have you taken on since attending the We Day event?

A: We use time in school and after to get together and plan for ways we can help raise money and donate to Free the Children and other charities. Some of the stuff we've done so far was have a food drive, a bake sale, and sell lollipops.

A: We have sign up sheets that people use to sign up on to volunteer for things like making posters and to help collect canned foods.

A: We have our own We Day for the people who didn't get a chance to go with us. We practice the We Day dance and have a group that goes around to each class in the school to dance with the students.

A: We use the PA system in the office to make announcements about the fundraising we do. We also give out prizes to encourage people to participate. We made posters to remind people to collect canned foods and gave a pizza lunch to the class that collected the most.

A: On April 17th we're going silent for bullying.

There are so many ways everyone can get involved in helping to make a change. Pick a campaign and get started here and here!

Thank you to the amazing students at St. Malachy's for sharing with me and the world your kind words of wisdom and empowering ways of change! Keep going, be an agent of change!

-Mandi

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Check out we365

We365 is a digital platform that helps you better our world , every day of the year. Free to join, it’s an online space to connect, share causes you care about and track the impact of your daily actions.

Thanks to a generous donation—for the next 6 months, for every sign up on We365 a child overseas will be immunized.

Sign up and find out more at: 

http://www.we365.com

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Free the children It is true that not all the children in the world are getting and living in peaceful and secure environment. Millions of the children are suffering every day because the poverty, war and etc. Reading your blog I can see that it is an international charity and educational partner. We have to work together and empower youth to remove barriers that prevent them from being active local and global citizen. It is very nice your group selected this organization to do the blog.

You’re absolutely right! The first step to removing those barriers is to begin conversations around what’s keeping these communities in the poverty loop, just as you are conversing with me. I encourage you to talk to your friends and family about these social issues because it is not only about fellow persons across the world who need help, but about those disadvantaged persons in your own backyard as well.

Thank you for your question. Please continue to visit my blog, I will always reply back as soon as possible!

-Mandi

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Inspiration, Motivation, and the Will to make a change

WE DAY is an initiative of Free the Children that gathers together students to celebrate their acts of social change through raised funds and volunteer service throughout the past year. Tickets can not be purchased to this event. Every attendee has earned it by taking on one local and one global pledge of action.

Heading down to the ACC I rode the GO Train and was able to observe the excitement of other We Day attendees around me. Students had brought along their posters and pom poms to help show their support. One of the moments I was pleasantly surprised to witness was when the announcer came on the PA system on the train and said that they were making an exception to the quiet zone rule, because they understood there were a large group of children using GO service that were very excited about We Day. The announcer even thanked the kids for making a difference!

Along the way I heard the children talk about how much of a great opportunity it was for them to attend this event and how much they were looking forward to hearing some of the motivational speakers make their speeches because of how inspirational they are, such as Spencer West.

These children that volunteer, raise funds, and collect non-perishable food items do it with passion because they are driven by a cause worth investing their time in.

Free the Children inspires youth to be their own generation of change makers by motivating them to present acts of kindness in local and global communities.

Together we hope to aid communities to live sustainably with all of the resources they need to bring themselves out of the poverty loop. We can make a difference as individuals by simply having a conversation about social issues such as poverty, child labour, agriculture, and education.

"Did you know 11% of the world’s population (783 million people) have no access to clean drinking water?" (Kielburger & Kielburger, 2013, p.18).

For more information on ways YOU can make a change click here.

-Mandi

Citation:

Kielburger, C., Kielburger, M. (2013). My Grandma follows me on Twitter: …And other first world problems we’re lucky to have. Toronto, ON: D&M Publishers Inc.

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Imagine being in a room full of 20,000 people rallying for the same cause. Every soul feeding off of each other's positive energy, creating the best environment for motivation and praise of social awareness and change. This is WE DAY.

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Highlighting some of the most inspirational, empowering and unbelievable stories from around the world as well as right here in our own communities.

Here is a link to the Free the Children website. Click on the link and watch the short video they provide that tells us more about their charity.