Prepare to see small change become lasting impact. Free the Children, in partnership with the Royal Bank of Canada and with support from Nelly Furtado and Hedley, launched We Create Change, Canada’s largest penny drive aimed at funding Free the Children’s Water Initiative. The concept is easy to grasp and powerful to witness when neighbors from coast to coast unite for a shared purpose that goes beyond a single coin drop.
The challenge is clear and inviting: pick up a specially designed penny bag and rally friends and family to fill it with coins. When a bag is sealed and full, it represents twenty-five dollars in pennies, enough to establish a reliable source of clean water for one person in a developing country. Across Canada, RBC branches handle the collection and sorting of these filled bags during the campaign windows announced each year, typically running from late fall into early winter and again in spring. The process is straightforward, but the impact is substantial, turning small acts into tangible change for communities in need.
Nelly Furtado and Craig Kielburger helped introduce We Create Change, presenting the campaign’s ambitions and inviting people from coast to coast to participate, making the call to action feel inclusive and urgent.
An additional way to support comes through the Water Rafiki Friend Chain, a ten-dollar item handcrafted by Maasai artisans in Kenya using traditional beadwork. The chains are available online and at Me to We’s Toronto store. Each purchase funds a year of clean water for one person and provides steady work and fair wages for the Maasai mamas who make them, creating a sustainable loop that connects donors with makers and communities.
During a special press briefing, Craig Kielburger, Nelly Furtado, and Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard outlined how the penny drive works and why small acts can create big waves of change. The discussion underscored that even modest contributions accumulate into meaningful outcomes when communities come together with a shared vision.
Together, the trio reaffirmed their call to participate in the We Create Change campaign, encouraging households in North America to turn everyday coins into lasting water solutions that empower families to thrive rather than merely survive.
Free the Children’s Water Initiative focuses on delivering clean water to hundreds of thousands of children. The reasons are straightforward: clean water prevents disease, improves nutrition, and frees up families to invest time in school and work. Home supporters can help by saving pennies, sharing the campaign with friends and family, and choosing Rafiki Chains as a tangible way to give back while supporting communities far away.
Craig Kielburger reflects on decades of work in water projects. He explains that providing clean water now is more cost-effective than emergency aid later, reducing the burden of treating illnesses and importing food aid. A penny may seem tiny, yet twenty-five of them placed together translate into a life-changing supply of water. As currencies shift and pennies disappear from daily use, this effort seeks to repurpose that small change for enduring benefit that sticks with families for years to come.
Nelly Furtado shares her excitement about boreholes and what they mean for communities. Her experiences in Kenya show how digging deep into the earth—sometimes hundreds of meters—yields steady water for schools and homes. She mentions Oleleshwa, a recently funded high school for girls, where borehole work brought water to students and staff, enabling better attendance and learning outcomes.
Craig notes that the borehole project is among Nelly’s funded initiatives benefiting the community, illustrating how philanthropic partnerships translate into real infrastructure that supports daily life.
Nelly emphasizes that the project belongs to the community. Children and youth participate in building and fundraising, and the moment the borehole begins to yield water becomes a symbol of communal achievement. The visuals of water gushing from the borehole and children celebrating reflect the program’s lasting importance. The experience underscores why the campaign matters to every participant and how collective effort can create a lasting, visible change.
Appreciation rounds out the conversation as the public is invited to learn more and take part in the effort, turning small coins into a larger story of health and opportunity for families and communities alike.
For more information and to join, people are directed to the official We Create Change campaign page and sign-up portal.