1995

At just 12 years old, Craig Kielburger (below right) decided to make a difference. He’d been flipping through the newspaper in search of comics when a compelling story caught his eye: A former child slave in Pakistan had been executed because he spoke up for human rights—and he was Kielburger’s age. Emboldened by the injustice, Kielburger convinced some of his Grade 7 classmates—as well as his big brother, Marc (below left)—to join his humanitarian cause. Together, the Thornhill, Ont.–based brothers launched Free the Children, now known as We, which broadened its focus to include other causes and countries as fast as the two grew up.