How freezies made a difference

In Haiti, which Kilbride calls "the basket case of the Western Hemisphere," many villages do not have schools; instead, classes are held in shelters or under trees – a big problem when it rains. It all sounds overwhelming. Then Kilbride told us that a school could be built in Haiti for about $6,000. One by one, we got fired up, because we all started to think, Hey, we can do this. "Each of us can change the world," he said, "little by little, one person at a time."

Craig Kielburger comes to all saints
Remember Craig Kielburger? He's the 12-year-old boy (now 18) who founded Free the Children in 1995 to end labour exploitation of children around the world. Luis Garcia, a filmmaker, is making a documentary on the organization and asked if Craig could be filmed speaking to the 600 kids at our school.

Young, smart and, most importantly, a terrific speaker, Craig is someone a lot of kids can relate to. He spoke passionately of the children he has met: kids who play soccer with plastic bottles because they have no balls, and of how when he gave one of the boys a soccer ball, the boy stripped the shirt off his back and handed it to Craig to show his appreciation. He described the typical day of an eight-year-old girl in India whose job it is to separate the plungers from the syringes of used needles – without any gloves or shoes on her feet. The kids sat in awe, many of them shocked at the stories but wanting to reach out and do something. "Don't let anyone tell you that you're too young," Craig concludes. "You're not too young. Everyone can do something." At the Q&A session afterward, seven-year-old Michele walked up to the microphone and asked, "What can I do?"

From freezie sales to skipathons
Throughout the school, each classroom held a meeting to decide what their unique fund-raising effort would be. Posters went up, raffles were organized and parents were enlisted to bake treats for the sales. Here is what the kids raised.

Grade 1 Popcorn Sale $208
Grade 2 Skipathon $700
Grades 3 and 4 Raffle $557
Grades 3 and 4 Toy Sale $411
Grade 5 Freezie Sale $1,140
Grade 5 French-Immersion Play $98
Grade 6 Chips and Chocolate Sale $410
Grades 7 and 8 Bake Sale and Dance $1,318
Grade 9 Student Donation $120
French classes Penny Drive $468

At the end of the school year, Marc Kielburger, Craig's brother and executive director of Free the Children, accepted a cheque for $5,430 from All Saints students, enough to build a school in Haiti. (Depending on the location and the type of school constructed, costs range from $3,500 to $15,000.)

Kids don't have all the answers, but they have a lot to share.
"In 30 years of teaching, I've never seen anything quite like this." That's what Jon Austin, the principal of All Saints at the time, said after the funds were raised. "It was great because the kids took ownership," he says. They decided what they were going to do and they did it."

Page 2 of 3 - Check out page three to read about building a school in Haiti