Changing Children’s Lives, One Egg at a Time!

Colin taking care of his 14 world changing chickens!

Some of you may be familiar with the story of Colin Lancashire, but for those who haven’t had the pleasure, let us introduce you. Colin (best known as “the boy with the chickens”) has been involved with Free The Children for several years now. In his first fundraising action, Colin saved up his weekly allowance and donated the amassed $20 to Free The Children. He was so motivated by that first, small yet important social effort that he asked his grandparents for ideas on how to continue to help children around the world. They suggested that Colin raise money to support a schoolbuilding project overseas by selling, of all things, eggs. No one, not even Colin himself, could have imagined how successful his egg venture would become.

When Free The Children first heard about Colin’s fundraising initiative, we were amazed and inspired by his selfless ingenuity. Colin has even been featured in a book about youth taking action—The Making of an Activist. In the book Colin writes, “I have learned that no matter how old you are, you can always find a way to make a difference in someone else’s life. I’m happy to know that somewhere in the world another kid is smiling because I care about them."

Colin is now almost 14 years old, and he and his chickens are still dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children the world over. Colin has now accumulated 14 chickens, including his favourite, Oreo. Through his hard work and dedication, Colin has garnered a large and loyal customer-base of ethical egg buyers who want organic products and the opportunity to support a great cause at the same time. Colin Lancashire for Free The Children, reads the label on Colin’s egg box, Changing children's lives, one egg at a time. 

Colin poses with Eva Haller, after they inspire Colin’s classmates at their Breakfast Club meeting

Selling eggs isn’t the only thing that Colin is doing to take action. Recently he invited Eva Haller, chair of Free The Children’s American Board of Directors, to visit his school (Anacapa School in Santa Barbara) and help inspire his fellow students to take action. After Eva’s presentation, Colin and his schoolmates started a fundraising initiative called Change for Children, and together they raised $300 simply by collecting spare change.

Colin has now raised more than $2900 towards his goal of $5000 to help build a school overseas in memory of his grandmother who passed away in 2005. “It gives me great personal satisfaction to know that I can make a difference. This motivates me to keep going and it's the reward I get,” says Colin. “I also like knowing that somewhere in the world there is a kid just like me that is getting a chance to improve their life.” 

Read Colin’s story in The Making of an Activist
Learn how you can make a difference in a child’s life through Adopt a Village

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.