Game on! How WE makes doing good, doable
Days are shorter and leaves are turning red. Fall is upon us, and so Canadian thoughts turn to … hockey!
Across the country, people are checking game schedules online and buying season tickets with the click of a mouse. School teams and community leagues are warming up, while kids are dragging their nets out of the garage. Office fantasy leagues are organizing and stores shelves are sagging under piles of gear and NHL merchandise.
In Canada, it’s easy to be a part of hockey. The game is omnipresent in our homes, communities, schools and workplaces.
Why isn’t it just as easy for Canadians to engage in positive community- and world-changing actions? It’s a question we’ve pondered ever since 12-year-old Craig struggled, spending days phoning one charity after another, desperately seeking a way to make a difference on child labour. Oh, sure, charities make donating money easy with telephone hotlines and web forms. But if you want to do more than just give a few dollars, if you really want to have an impact, we do not yet have a culture that offers opportunities to do good in every aspect of our lives.
Creating that culture is the goal of the WE movement. We want to make it as easy for you to change the world as it is to get involved in hockey. In short, WE makes doing good, doable.
We’re doing that by creating resources for families, schools and workplaces.
Family is where young people learn the beliefs and values they’ll carry for their entire lives. Odds are that you root for the same team your elders cheered on. (We’re Leafs fans like our dad. Difficult at times, but true.) That’s why we established WE Families.
Subscribe to the WE Families e-newsletter and each week you’ll get a new “Do One Thing Today”—a quick social action, discussion topic or idea that your family can take part in anytime. For example, have fun as a family and help local food banks by joining WE Scare Hunger, collecting canned food items instead of candy at Halloween. To date, participating kids and their families have gathered more than 13 million pounds of food for food banks! The WE Families Kit is everything you need to begin your journey as change-makers.
Whether it’s with your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews, or even the children of friends who are so close they’re practically family, it’s as easy to make a difference as a family as it is to knock a few pucks into the net together in the driveway.
As Canada’s largest youth service organization, a major focus for WE has been changing the face of education through WE Schools service-learning. In partnership with educators we’re developing curriculum that makes it simple for teachers to integrate social and environmental issues into any subject lesson, with discussion topics and real-world activities that empower students to make a difference in their communities. At more than 14,500 schools in Canada, the US and UK, WE clubs are raising millions of dollars for causes they’re passionate about—and it’s way easier to join those clubs than to win a spot on the school hockey team.
Through campaigns supporting our WE Villages program, and ME to WE products and trips, Canadian families and schools can connect with communities around the world.
Through WE programs, 3.8 million youth and their families have given more than 40 million hours of service, and supported more than 7,000 different causes.
We dream of the day when, in workplace kitchenettes and cafeterias everywhere, right beside the chart tracking the office playoff pool will hang the poster boasting employee volunteer hours. We’re making it easy for companies to build a corporate culture of giving back with motivational speakers, fundraising and volunteering campaign resources, and even a Skype support line.
Creating a Canada where doing good is as much a part of daily life in our homes, schools and workplaces as hockey—now that’s a hat trick worth shooting for.