Skoll Entrepreneur(s): Craig and Marc Kielburger
Change(s) Addressed: Economic & Social Equity

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DESCRIPTION:

In 1995, when Craig Kielburger was 12, he was shocked by a newspaper article about the murder of a child laborer turned child rights activist. Craig enlisted the help of his brother, Marc, and they established Free The Children (FTC), determined to help fight poverty, exploitation and powerlessness among their peers. The organization began as a group of classmates raising money and awareness, and it evolved into an international phenomenon: hundreds of Youth in Action school chapters, a partnership with Oprah’s Angel Network and volunteer service trips to Asia, Africa and Central America. Craig never stopped spreading the message that children in the Western world could effect social change. Marc, a Harvard graduate, Rhodes Scholar and Oxford-educated lawyer, has helped the organization move from focusing strictly on international issues to bridging the gap between global and local needs.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS OF 2010

• Free The Children has built more than 500 schools in Africa, Asia and South America, providing daily education to over 50,000 students, while inspiring tens of thousands of young people in North America to take action locally and globally.
• Through 3,500 Youth in Action groups in the United States and Canada and over one million young people engaged in each country, students have been leading contributors to raising funds and awareness of global issues.
• Following We Day, the organization’s annual event meant to inspire a year of youth-led actions, over 32,000 students from 2,200 schools are working to log one million hours of volunteer service and raise funds to sponsor 10 villages in the developing world.