Accomplishments & Contributions:

Through his years of hard work and perseverance Craig Kielburger has made an outstanding amount of contributions and has impacted thousands of children’s lives around the world. First off, Kielburger is founder and chair of the Free the Children Organization (“Free the Children”). This organization was founded in 1995 and is the leading youth-driven charity in the world today (“Free the Children”). Free the Children is an international developmental and youth empowerment organization that influences are felt around the world (“Free the Children”). Funded by garage sales, car washes, bike sales and other such forms of fundraising, this organization puts the power into the children’s hands by allowing them to organize and raise the money themselves to help their peers in need (“Free the Children”). Within two years of its creation, this organization raised money through coin donations in classrooms to fund a rehabilitation center to take in Pakistani children who have escaped from slavery (“Free the Children”). This rehabilitation center provided shelter, an informal school for the children, and it helped keep the children out of the child labor system (“Free the Children”). The impact of the Free the Children Organization on the world, as a whole, was also incredible. So far, this organization has built over 500 schools in Asia, Africa, and Latin America which provide daily education to over 50, 000 children (“Free the Children”). It has also shipped over 200, 000 school and health kits around the world, sending more than eight million dollars worth of medical supplies in developing countries (“Craig Kielburger – Profile”) Free the Children has also helped to create the “Adopt a Village Model” (“Free the Children”). This “Model” had established over 23, 000 alternate income projects to assist women and families to produce sustainable incomes for the rest of their lives. In addition to all of that, Free the Children joined forces with Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network, working on joint projects such as “O Ambassadors” which educates and inspires over one million youths across North America to be socially engaged and to help underprivileged peers across the world (“Free the Children”).
Kielburger is also the co-founder and director of the Me to We Organization, with his older brother, Marc, as the other co-founder. The goal of Me to We is to encourage the ethical living and social responsibility of the world’s youth and to help the Free the Children Organization achieve financial sustainability (“Free the Children”). The children are given the opportunity to learn to live well, strong, and happily for the rest of their lives. The Me to We Organization does not only provide the education to these children, but it offers them a chance at a successful and prosperous life (“Free the Children”). Also, Craig and Marc founded the Leaders Today Organization in 1999. The Leaders Today Organization’s main goal is the teach leadership skills to children and to empower children to fight for their rights. Leaders Today has centers in Kenya and Ecuador (“Peaceheroes”). This organization is one large part of Craig’s fight against child labor (“Peaceheroes”). This organization teaches children that they can do anything they set their minds to, and working in a factory for long hours, little pay, and no benefits is not right. This organization works from the root of the problem to show children another way of life. It helps to work towards a more healthy and successful lifestyle for the youth of the world (“Peaceheroes”). The children are given this wonderful chance to learn how to be successful and strong for the rest of their lives.