The co-founder of Free the Children and Me to We chats with us about his charities and getting involved.
On Me to We:
Me to We is a social enterprise [that was] designed to help support the work of Free The Children. Half of Me to We’s annual profits are given to Free The Children. With the money donated from Me to We, we don’t pay for advertisements and our administrative fees are uniquely low. Through Me to We, we are able to honour the youth who work with us, and ensure 100% of their donations support our international projects.
If he had a wish:
It would be that every child would have the opportunity to go to school and get an education. Currently, Free The Children has built more than 650 schools around the world, providing education to over 55,000 children every day.
On his role model:
Mother Teresa. She [told me,] “you have to realize that in our lives we can do no great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
On getting involved:
We always tell people to start with a simple math equation: Issue + Gift = Better World. Your issue can be something that sparks your interest, something that you saw as wrong and decided you needed to do something about. The second part of the equation, your gift, is also critical. Everyone has a gift. Whatever your gift, when it is nurtured and applied to an issue, this equates to a better world. If you’re gifted in sport, organize a tournament to raise money for cancer research. If your gift is art, donate a painting to a charity auction to end hunger. The possibilities for getting involved are endless. You just have to remember this simple equation.