Fund A School In Less Than One Month? These 4 And 9 Year Old Siblings Just Did

TORONTO - June 24, 2014 - PRLog -- VANCOUVER, June 2014 --  On June 15, 2014, Niagara elementary schoolers Flynn (9) and Ruby (4) Kirwin celebrated the completion of a month-long fundraising project that raised $11,460.94 to build a school in Ecuador. Run through the Vancouver-based tech startup and social enterprise, Change Heroes, their campaign that started on May 13, 2014 reached out to classmates, friends, family, and community members.  Using the company’s digital platform, personal connection, and a compelling call to action, the Kirwins ambitiously set out to educate 1,000 kids just like them in a completely different part of the world.

Flynn Kirwin, an avid soccer fan, originally had the idea to raise money to provide soccer balls to children in Africa but switched his focus to education after meeting Change Heroes’ founder, Taylor Conroy, at the Do Gooder’s Summit in Guleph, Ontario last year.  He turned to his four-year old sister, Ruby, for help in creating personalized videos, a signature part of Change Heroes’ platform.  Together, the siblings used the tagline, “Little kids can make the difference” to grab the attention of not only family and friends, but also complete strangers who came across their video on the internet.  Ruby, not yet in kindergarten, noted that it was important to her to build a school so that “friends and communities have a place to learn together and play together”.

Flynn and Ruby are the platform’s youngest campaigners and hope to set an example for kids in the future who want to build schools.  Taylor Conroy's, founder of Change Heroes, “333” concept is what drove the siblings and countless others to success: 33 friends give $3.33 per day for 3 months, totaling $10,000, the necessary amount to build a school through the company’s implementing partner, Free the Children.  Donating what is essentially the cost of a latte per day towards the tangible outcome of a school is how donors to Flynn and Ruby’s Ecuadorian school were able to collaboratively create such a great impact.

Flynn and Ruby’s success shows that it easier now more than ever to give and make significant impact on youth and their communities worldwide.  They are joined  by 3,427 donors who have contributed more than $1.37 million dollars, funding 137 schools, since Change Heroes launched in July 2013.  The social enterprise has quickly grown to be one of Canada’s top 15 tech startups of 2013, with donations from over 40 countries and comprehensive nonprofit partnerships with Free the Children, Room to Read, and Pencils of Promise.

To watch the Kirwin sibling’s call to action video, please view the following link: http://video.changeheroes.com:8080/www.changeheroes.com/g978_aac.mp4.