Making Change

Throughout my fundraising efforts, I believed it was absolutely vital to raise awareness, gain media attention, and get as many youth people involved as possible. That is why I wrote and published a book in 2008 called Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever (www.makingchangenow.com, Orca Book Publishers, October 2008), it is something I wrote especially for young people. I wanted them to learn how possible – and how much fun – it really is to make a difference at the local level. In the book, I focus on being creative, thinking big, being bold, and never taking “no” for an answer. But most importantly, I wanted to show people that no matter who you are, where you’re from, what language you speak, or what your age, you can change the world. I hope that tens of thousands of young people will read the book and begin their own organizations that increase awareness about global youth issues and raise funds for kids who need help. I held a launch of my book in October 2008 at my school, St. Andrews College in Aurora, Ontario. I had the pleasure of speaking in front of 300 students, teachers and other invited guests, including Richmond Hill Member of Provincial Parliament Reza Moridi, Canadian Idol judge Farley Flex and President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, Nigel Fisher. I’ve also had the pleasure of speaking to organizations such as URISA Canada, FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance USA, Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the Haitian and Indonesian communities of Toronto, Canada. I have also been interviewed by dozens of newspapers, magazines, radio and television shows, including City Pulse News, Global Television, the Toronto Sun, OMNI News, CBC radio, the Toronto Star, A-TV in Barrie, Ontario, and Asian Connection. I specifically enjoy speaking to young people at schools throughout Canada and promoting the Trick or Treat for UNICEF program that raises funds to build schools for children in Africa. There was one young girl, Avery Dakin-Clarke from Crichton Park School in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, who was strongly motivated by the message. After giving a speech at her school, I reminded her that no matter how young she was, she could still make a difference. She went on to start a penny drive in her own community and raised more than $10,000 for children’s charities. There was one particular example that really stood out: I heard from a youth who had just moved to Canada but was very unhappy and was even contemplating suicide. Yet after hearing me talk on one of my speaking tours, the boy realized that there were young people who really do care and are working together to create a better world, and that he wanted to be a part of that change. As he wrote in a letter he sent me: “When I was in refugee camp and even when I came to Canada, I couldn't think of a reason why I wouldn't be better dead. You restored my faith in humanity. I now have a reason to live. That's what I'm taking home with me.” I am happy to say that the boy is now doing very well. I was honored to become a UNICEF Canada children’s ambassador in 2005 and to spread the message globally, I traveled around the world to places like south-east Asia, Central Africa and South and Central America. I went to Malawi, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives to see personally how the funds I helped raise were making a difference, including the reconstruction of housing and schools for children. I met with hundreds of children, program organizers and dignitaries, including the President of the Maldives. Two summers ago I volunteered for a month in Tanzania, conducting HIV/AIDS workshops with young people, some of whom had lost mothers and fathers from the disease. I spoke to them about my eight principles for maximizing your potential, which is a chapter in my book (see below). And just this past August, I traveled to Ecuador help build schools. It was hard work, but I enjoyed every minute of it. As a selected participant in Governor General Michaelle Jean's Order of Canada Mentorship Program, I also traveled to Ecuador in August 2008 to help build a school. In addition, I went to Mexico to help install solar powered LED lights in the village of El Coyote, which was inspired by an award-winning science fair project I completed for school. The lights allowed young students in El Coyote to stay up later to read and complete their homework. They were also no longer forced to use the old kerosene lights, which can cause health problems and are potential fire hazards. Finally, I recently established an endowment fund at my middle school at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ontario, from the advance of my book. Each year, a student who completes the greatest number of hours of community volunteer service receives a special award provided by the endowment fund and is recognized by his or her teachers and principal at graduation. The award has inspired students at my school to become fundraisers themselves, and some of them have raised hundreds of dollars for charities in their own right. Nick Whitelaw, a friend of mine at school, began volunteering at his church and accumulated 550 hours of community service time in 2008, compared to none at all the year earlier. Based on this success, I am currently starting a similar program across Canada. My goal is to establish a youth volunteer award program in each and every middle school across the country within two years. I am also starring an online radio show that will begin in March 2009. It will provide a platform for youth who are active in making a difference in their communities and around the world. I am also in the process of starting “Making Change Clubs” at schools throughout North America, which will give kids their first taste of activism and hopefully engage them at a younger age.