Galen’s Celebration for Change

Galen Woods celebrated his 12th birthday outside with cake and games. To the regular passerby it would seem like a typical birthday party. If the passerby looked a little closer, however, she would see that the cake was oddly decorated with a huge water spout. She may also notice that the usual stack of brightly-wrapped presents was missing.

For Galen’s 12th birthday, he decided to throw a different kind of party—Celebrate-for-Change-style.

If she watched long enough, she would see the guests arrive and—instead of placing presents in a pile—put up airplane stickers on a huge map of the world.

Galen had decided to throw a different kind of birthday party—Celebrate-for-Change-style.

Celebrate for Change is Free The Children’s newest campaign, where young people throw a party for all the children of the world. Galen explains, “For my 12th birthday, I chose to raise money for Free The Children’s Adopt a Village Clean Water project because I felt that because we’re from a country that has so much already, we needed to help others that don't have the simple necessary things in life that we take for granted, like water.”

The water spout on Galen’s cake represented his goal of providing clean water for children and families in a developing country. Instead of receiving gifts, Galen received donations from all of his friends to go towards the Clean Water project. Every airplane sticker placed on the map represented one step towards clean water for every child. With each $100 raised, Galen provided a family with access to clean water, ensuring that their children grow up healthy and are able to attend school.

Afterwards, Galen reflected on his party: “I think having my birthday party for Free The Children inspired my friends to help people in need. It made them aware of the poverty in other countries. It made them care enough to donate generously. In the end, my donation to Free The Children’s Clean Water project was $400. This made me feel great and proud.”

The families they helped were not the only ones who received a gift. Galen’s guests left the party with their own gifts: the satisfaction of helping others and knowledge about other parts of the world. When Galen’s guests returned to school, they told their classmates and teachers about the party. Everyone they told was so excited by what Galen’s party had accomplished in one afternoon that they decided to do more together. Galen’s school, St. John Catholic Elementary School in Toronto, immediately signed up for the Brick by Brick: Schoolbuilding project to ensure that the same children who would have clean water would be also able to attend school. Galen’s party ended up starting a school-wide movement!

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The Story of 1807:
Sierra Leone and Jarvis Collegiate

Free The Children Founder Craig Kielburger hanging out with the students of Jarvis Collegiate.

Our story begins in 1807, when Great Britain outlawed the slave trade. To enforce the ban, Britain established a naval base in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In the same year, halfway around the world, Jarvis Collegiate Institute was founded in Toronto, Canada.

Little did the British and the Jarvis Collegiate founders know that 200 years later, the connection between Sierra Leone and Jarvis Collegiate Institute would continue.

The abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain had stopped one of the hardships faced by the people of Sierra Leone. British colonialism, however, resulted in many more hardships, as the country was stripped of its natural resources and blocked from developing as an independent nation. Once freed from British rule in 1961, social instability fueled by Sierra Leone’s many diamond mines exploded in 1991, resulting in an 11-year civil war that only ended in 2002. During the brutal war, families were torn apart, children were permanently injured and mentally scarred, and schools were systematically destroyed.

Students at Jarvis Collegiate found out about what happened in Sierra Leone and they decided to take action. The students set their sights on building a school for the children of Sierra Leone, providing them with a safe place to receive an education and recover from the traumas of the war.

From walk-a-thons to bracelet sales, coffeehouses to cookie sales, classes and student clubs came together to achieve their goal of education for all. The Girls Athletic Council delivered “Halloween-o-grams” and “holiday-o-grams”; the Environmental Club sold environmentally friendly and naturally scented “smencil pencils”; the Drama department held a drama fest; and the Multicultural Club lived up to their name with gourmet international food sales of Chinese, Spanish, African, Middle Eastern and Korean recipes. A true community effort, the staff and parents also joined in on the fun during book and food sales. By spring, Jarvis had achieved their goal, raising more than $13,000 to build their school in Sierra Leone.

The students of Jarvis Collegiate used paper bricks to track their schoolbuilding progress. Behind them is a wall with bricks stacked high.

Angela Sun, a Grade 11 student, summarizes her school’s atmosphere, stating, “Jarvis has always been a very charitable school, but I really felt that this time with everyone working together towards a common goal, the amount of money that we have raised, and the outpouring of support from everyone, that we have already exceeded all expectations.”

Upon hearing Jarvis Collegiate’s many accomplishments, one might think: “aren’t they done yet?” But one would be wrong. Students and staff are plowing ahead, organizing a gigantic rummage sale. Rehnuma Alam, a Grade 10 student, sums up her school’s passion best: “Building a school in Sierra Leone is an amazing idea and project… it just shows that from anywhere in the world, we can help in our own way. If Jarvis can do it, everyone can do it!”

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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.