As I mentioned in an earlier post, 2014 is Free the Children’s Year of Education, with initiatives focused on bringing schools to the children and communities around the world that need them the most.
They’ve enlisted the help of some of our favourite celebrities to take up the cause. Singers like Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas, and Kardinal Offishall have all visited with the children in countries in need and lent a hand in building schools. The cast of Degrassi is also doing its part to bring a life of learning to children worldwide.
In this video, you can see Degrassi stars Charlotte Arnold, Jordan Todosey, and Annie Clark visiting girls in India.
We’ve heard from many OWL readers who are involved in Free The Children programs. Let us know if you’re doing something special for a cause.
Did you know that 2014 is the Year of Education? Over fifty-seven million children (more than the entire population of Canada!) are denied access to education, and Free the Children is focusing its efforts on bringing education’s empowering effects to the poorest communities around the world.
But you can’t have education without a school, right? Free the Children’s Brick by Brick campaign builds schoolhouses around the world, one brick at a time. You can go to this Brick by Brick link and find five great ideas for your own school (or family, or Scout troop, or soccer team!) to fundraise towards building a school where it’s needed most.
Free the Children wants your school to fill up this poster with “Bricks” – each brick is a step closer to building a real school for children in need, all around the world.
I was inspired by a photo of three students raising money for Brick by Brick at a bake sale – another great way to fundraise. If you’d like to hold a bake sale for your school and community, here is a delicious, healthy recipe that you could try from our November 2010 issue. Remember, always ask an adult to help you with the oven.
Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
2 mashed bananas
625 mL (1/4 cup) applesauce
2.5 mL (1/2 tsp.) vanilla
1.25 mL (1/4 tsp.) cinnamon
1.25 mL (1/4 tsp.) nutmeg
85 mL (1/3 cup) raisins
500 mL (2 cups) quick oats
Instructions
Preheat oven to 175˚C (350˚F). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.
Roll the dough into small balls and drop on the baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Let cool.
How would you plan to fundraise for a charity? What’s your go-to bake sale recipe?
But what is a First World Problem? In a world where so many children are unable to go to school or without access to clean water or healthy food, First World Problems are those little daily irks that only fortunate people get. Having to stand on the subway, your family picking Italian when you’re really craving sushi, or missing your favourite TV show because it falls on the same day as soccer practice are all First World Problems (and all ones I’ve been guilty of!). When we are able to take a step back and realize we’re complaining about something that we should be thankful for–like the fact that we can go out to eat at all—we can get better at understanding the real hardships of people in our community and around the world.
Free the Children made a hilarious video showcasing the difference between First World Problems and real problems, which you can see below:
I think we’re all guilty of First World Problems, so instead, tell us what you have to be thankful for today!
A couple of weeks ago, Kim asked about the best Halloween costume you’ve ever seen. Get prepared to change your answer when you see this video: a kid’s bodysuit lit up with LED lights!
Don’t the lights make her look like a living stick-figure drawing? Imagine how cool dancing would be in a costume like this! I also like that the lights make it easier for cars to see you while trick-or-treating.
Have you ever seen a costume using technology before? If you could invent one, what would it be like?
Have a safe, spooky, and most of all happy Halloween!
I am thrilled to pieces to be going with OWL to We Day, a day-long event of inspiring speakers and awesome musical acts. Attendees to We Day don’t buy their tickets – they earn them through We Act, actions that promote local and global change.
We Day brings together over 1.7 million youth in North America and the United Kingdom. It gives them a once-in-a lifetime chance to hear musicians like Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers, and the Barenaked Ladies, and speakers like astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. Here’s a video all about this amazing event. Just watching it gets me pumped to make the world a better place!
Video courtesy Free the Children/We Day.
I am especially excited to hear Martin Luther King III speak at We Day – his father’s “I Have a Dream” speech turned 50 this year and it has always inspired me to strive for equality.
If you are going to We Day, who are you looking forward to seeing and hearing the most? If you aren’t this year, what would you do for We Act to go next year?
Get out there and make the world better! Until next time,
