On the road to global citizenship

Sharing the Me to We philosophy through North America

Imagine leaving your friends, family and everything you know to move to the other side of the continent, to work and live with people you don’t know, in a city you’ve only been to once before. Sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? To be honest, it was.

I moved to Toronto from my home in Los Angeles last October to work as an outreach coordinator at Free The Children. I knew that Free The Children was an amazing organization where I would learn to take action to make a difference in the world, but I didn’t realize that this would be the most humbling, rewarding and inspiring time of my life.

Over the past seven months, I’ve met amazing students and educators from all over Canada and the United States who are taking action through Free The Children campaigns to make a difference around the world.

One of the most moving experiences I’ve had was when I went back to my hometown in California to give a speech to the Boys and Girls Club of America. Since I was a little girl, I’ve been a part of the Boys and Girls Club, so the thought of going back to give them a speech was both exhilarating and nerve-racking. It would be my turn to give back to the organization that made a huge impact on my life, inspiring young members the way I had been inspired as a child.

I was nervous about giving my speech. I thought, “How would these kids, who live in the poorest inner cities of California, respond to my call for action?” But as soon as I finished speaking, I was flooded by young people asking questions about poverty, war and child labour—young people facing their own obstacles, their own issues of poverty, but who still wanted to make a difference by starting Youth in Action Groups with Free The Children.

These kids may have very little to donate, but their eagerness to simply get involved and raise awareness about children in need showed me that we all have the ability to change the world.

My new surroundings might be 3,000 miles away from my hometown, but I’ve realized that the two places have more in common than I first thought. The Boys and Girls Club helped me as a child and teenager to become a good and responsible person. Free The Children is challenging me to become a good and responsible global citizen. And because of this amazing opportunity, I have the chance to inspire thousands of young people to get involved and become responsible global citizens themselves.

Sarah Young
Outreach Coordinator

Free The Children is the largest network of children helping children through education in the world, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has an established track-record of success, with three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and partnerships with the United Nations and Oprah’s Angel Network.