Jane Wu

If there ever were a model for teen philanthropy and voluntarism, it would be Jane Wu, this year’s winner of Canada’s Top Teen Philanthropist. Now, a first year student at Queens University, Jane has worked for Child and Youth Friendly Calgary (CYFC) for the past four years.  CYFC is a charity synonymous with youth inspiration and empowerment.  According to Jane, CYFC has helped thousands of youth develop their “inner philanthropist” and Jane’s experiences with CYFC are many.

One of Jane’s proudest accomplishments was a program entitled “Beauty and Brains”, a conference for young women which “completely changed her life”. Jane’s vision of the conference was to expose young women to the leadership positions available in non-tradition areas and ultimately inspire them to pursue their dreams, regardless of any stigmas or obstacles.  Over 100 young women in the Calgary area attended the conference. Jane fundraised over $5,000 to ensure that the conference was free of cost and accessible to all young women in Calgary.

Other involvements with CYFC included serving as Chair of the Calgary Youth Foundation (CYF), a program that gives youth a hands-on approach to philanthropy.  She also served as a Co-Chair of the Mayor’s Youth Council, in which youth had an opportunity to work closely with Municipal officials to examine issues affecting youth in Calgary and propose changes.

Jane Wu is the winner of the inaugural Mackenzie Investments Top Teen Philanthropist, and an incredible role model.  Jane’s personal goals, in her own words, are to “always be a philanthropist and hopefully pass on the vitals lessons that CYFC taught me, and inspire others to discover their inner superpowers as a philanthropist too.”

 

Jeneece Edroff

Jeneece Edroff was born with a genetic condition called Neurofibromatosis, a debilitating disease that affects the nervous system. At the age of 3, Jeneece was introduced to Variety, The Children’s Charity when they helped to pay for a special body brace to support her spine and put off the need for surgery. Hearing stories of other children and families helped by Variety, Jeneece wanted to give back so that the charity could help other families like hers. Starting at age 7, Jeneece collected pennies from the students in her classroom and raised $164, which she presented on the Variety Show for Hearts Telethon. But she knew she could do more. The following year and with the help of the local TV station, she announced that she was collecting pennies for the Telethon. In just three week, she had collected $27,000 in pennies. Jeneece’s penny drive was born and with it, a new goal of raising $1 million dollars for BC’s Special Kids.

Over the years, with the help of the local media, schools, businesses, sports teams, and individuals age 1 to 100, Jeneece has run her penny drive every January. The public has followed Jeneece’s story through the local media, and by last November she had raised $600,000 and was on track to meet her personal goal of $1 million. But in December 2007, Jeneece had to undergo two major surgeries on her spine. Through the media and media across British Columbia, she asked the public to help her reach her goal. The people of BC responded and when all the coins were counted, she had reached her goal. In seven years of fund raising, Jeneece has raised more than $1.25 million with more than 80% of the total coming from pennies and coins. Jeneece’s personal philosophy was inspired by her penny drive. "I am a bit like a penny. By myself, I am not worth much, but with a little help and lots of pennies, you can achieve a lot. Every penny counts and even the smallest person can make a difference." You can find out more at www.jeneece.com and by looking Jeneece up on YouTube.

 

Olivier Cossette

At the age of 10, life for Olivier Cossette and his family changed when his mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. While research and advances in treatment have allowed her to maintain a good quality of life, Olivier wanted to do more for his Mom and the thousands of Canadian families impacted by this devastating disease. Since 2003, Olivier has organized and participated in a number of events in and around his home town of Mont Saint-Hilaire, Québec, every year to generate awareness of the impact of Multiple Sclerosis and to raise funds for research that will one day find a cure. Starting with collecting bottles and cans door-to-door to community garage sales, Olivier has built foundation of support in his community and organized a group of more than 50 volunteers to help raise money. His grassroots efforts have been successful in not only raising money, but spreading awareness and understanding of a devastating disease.

Starting in 2004, Olivier and his team of volunteers participated in their first Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada “Walk for MS” in Montreal. They raised $1,000 in their first year and committed themselves to raising more the next year and every year after that. In 2007 and 2008, Oliver and his team raised the most money in at the Montreal MSSC Walk for MS event, held annually in more than 160 communities across Canada. Olivier has raised more than $50,000 to help find a cure for MS and has already closing in on his goal to raise $25,000 at the Walk for MS in spring 2009. Olivier has been selected as one of the winners for his efforts in creating awareness, mobilizing his community around a goal and for his success in raising funds for the cause.

 

Calvin Mitchell

Calvin Mitchell is a high school student in Nepean, Ontario. He has been interested in helping others for a number of years, fundraising for UNICEF, World Vision and Invisible Children. Three years ago, when Calvin was in the ninth grade, he was inspired by a speech given by the founder of Free The Children (FTC), Craig Kielburger. Kielburger himself is quite young. Now 25, he started FTC in 1995 with the goal of mobilizing youth to help others in need around the world. Today, Free The Children is the world's largest network of children helping children through education, with more than one million youth involved in education and development programs in 45 countries.

Following Kielburger’s speech, Calvin and some of his friends started a fundraising group for FTC. Their goal was to raise enough money in the four years they were in high school to build an elementary school in Kenya (approximate cost $6,500). The group ran a number of fundraisers, from raffles at lunchtime to homeroom challenge change drives. Calvin even helped plan a Kenyan themed dinner to raise money, which drew 250 people and raised over $1,500. Calvin and a friend also participated in the FTC Vow of Silence. This is a powerful campaign in which participants don’t speak or communicate with others for 24 hours to raise awareness for young people who are voiceless around the world. Combining awareness raising with fundraising, the team collected pledges from family and friends for every hour that they were silent, raising another $1,500 for the school project.

In 10th grade, Calvin started his school’s first club dedicated to global humanitarian issues called the Humanitarian Club. The club’s two main events were the Spread the Net Homeroom Challenge to raise money to help fight malaria through UNICEF and again the second annual Vow of Silence with Free the Children. Over two years, spanning grades nine and ten, Calvin led fundraising efforts that more than doubled his goal, raising over $14,000. This is enough to build two new schools, giving an education to 80 children every day who might have otherwise never learned to read or write, to take care of themselves and to stand up for their rights.

 

Jessica Szeto

Beginning at the age of 12, Jessica began her advocacy campaign for children’s rights by founding the youth group “Live2Give” at her elementary school. Her goal was to raise awareness and funds for Free the Children’s Build a School campaign. In 2007, Jessica joined the Fu Hui (Canada) foundation in 2007. Fu Hui (Canada) Foundation is dedicated to helping young children and students in rural parts of China “who otherwise have no means to pursue their education”. In many under-funded rural communities in China, it is common to find primary schools that function with only makeshift tents, little or no teaching resources and untrained teachers. In addition to fundraising and promotional projects, Jessica’s efforts would take on a new direction - documentary filmmaking. Starting with stock footage, Jessica put together her first two documentaries which were screened at the charity’s gala event and helped illustrate the need the charity filled in the lives of children in rural communities in China. These films helped build awareness and raise much needed funds.

In August 2007, Jessica traveled to Butuo, China with the charity to document their project - the opening of boarding schools for impoverished children in Butuo. During that visit, Jessica filmed scenes of extreme poverty and children in desperate need, with the goal of helping tell their story. Many children were AIDS orphans, lacked proper food, clothing and medicine and lacked any kind of education that could help them break free of the cycle of poverty. While on the trip, the Fu Hui (Canada) Foundation, and professors from Hong Kong University and Xichang College not only visited the prospective students, but also trained nannies, teachers and principals of the new boarding schools.

Returning to Toronto, Jessica created awareness video segments and documentaries on the children she met in China. One of her films, “The Children of Butuo” was nominated and screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival where she took the opportunity to speak to the audience about her film and about the AIDS orphans in China. Her program and her films provide a voice to children who cannot speak for themselves. Her films and photography have been on display in a number of exhibits and she continues to talk to audiences about these children, raising funds on their behalf. 

 

Arnav Agarwal

At an early age and from time spent in some of the poorest neighbourhoods in India, Arnav Agarwal learned the importance of volunteerism and the positive impact it could have in the lives of others. Alongside his mother and father, each successful professionals in their respective fields, Arnav discovered how harsh life can be for those less fortunate that ourselves – stark poverty, gender inequality, and living without the basic necessities of life like clean water, shelter and access to medical treatment are just a few of the challenges faced by those in the communities in India where he first began volunteering. Here in Canada, Arnav, continued to focus on creating positive change in his community, and beginning in 2006, focused most of his free time and energy with helping others through the Mississauga YMCA. He was drawn to the YMCA because of their vision for a inclusive society where everyone, regardless of their background or financial situation, works together to build a stronger, supportive community.

Adopting his school motto of “Take a Risk, Get Involved, and be Committed” as his personal goal, Arnav jumped into volunteerism with both feet, giving over 1500 volunteer hours since joining the YMCA in October 2006. He has taken on a variety of challenges within the YMCA, being a team member and leader for a variety of programs including Child/Youth/Family Recreational Program, Adult Recreational Program, Membership Services, Individual Conditioning Volunteer, Youth Leader Corps, and International Projects. In addition to his work at the YMCA, Arnav has given his time to many other institutions as well, including ErinOak Kids, Credit Valley Hospital, Mayor’s Youth Action Committee (MYAC), Red Cross Society, and Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Arnav is being recognized for his dedication and commitment to helping make a difference in his community and representing the true spirit of volunteerism.