Marc Kielburger

Last updated

Marc Kielburger
CM OMC
Marc - Colour.jpg
Kielburger in 2008
Born
Marc Kielburger

1977 (age 46–47)
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Education
Occupations
  • Social entrepreneur
  • author
  • columnist
  • humanitarian
Known forCo-founder of WE Charity and Me to We
Notable workMe To WE
SpouseRoxanne Joyal
Children2
Relatives Craig Kielburger (brother)
Awards Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship (1998)
Order of Canada (2010)
Website www.marckielburger.com

Marc Kielburger CM OMC (born 1977) is a Canadian author, social entrepreneur, columnist, humanitarian and activist for children's rights. He is the co-founder, along with his brother Craig, of the We Movement, which consists of the WE Charity, an international development and youth empowerment organization; Me to We, a for-profit company [1] selling lifestyle products, leadership training and travel experience; and We Day, an annual youth empowerment event. In 2010, he was named a member of the Order of Canada by the Governor General of Canada. [2]

Contents

Early years and education

Kielburger was born in 1977 to schoolteachers Fred and Theresa Kielburger. [3] [4] [5] At age 13, he became involved in environmental activism, founding clubs, starting petitions and eventually becoming the youngest person ever to receive the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship. [6] He traveled to Jamaica on a school program, where he volunteered at a hospice for teenage mothers and at a leper colony. [5] [7] In 1990, Kielburger won the award for Best Junior Project at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, going on to win another CWSF award in 1992. [8]

Kielburger attended Brebeuf College School Toronto and Neuchâtel Junior College in Switzerland, graduating from both in 1995. [9] [10] [11] In the same year, he was named a Jostens Loran Scholar and enrolled in Ottawa University before transferring to Harvard University, where he received a degree in International Relations. In 2000, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and attended University College, Oxford, [12] where he received a law degree with an emphasis on human rights law. [13] [14] [15] [8]

Activism and social entrepreneurship

While Marc Kielburger was studying at Harvard, his younger brother Craig read a story in the newspaper about the murder of a former child labourer in Pakistan. [16] The story inspired Craig to urge world leaders to oppose the practice of child labour. [16] In 1995, Craig and Marc co-founded Free the Children (later renamed We Charity). [17] Marc's work with Free the Children has included co-creating ME to WE, a social enterprise organization that supports WE Charity with half its profits, and WE Day, an annual youth empowerment event held in large stadiums in cities across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Kielburger later co-founded Leaders Today, an organization that trains young people to develop skills and confidence to effect social change. [18]

In 2008, the Kielburgers appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, where they launched a partnership with Oprah's Angel Network. [19]

Kielburger's work has been recognized through an Ashoka fellowship. [20] He was named Most Admired CEO in Canada in the Public Sector 2015. [1]

Kielburger is a member of the board of directors of Freshii. [21] Kielburger also contributes a column to The Globe and Mail . [22]

On September 9, 2020, WE Charity announced that it was winding down its operations in Canada and selling its assets to establish an endowment that will help sustain ongoing WE Charity projects around the world. [23] [24] [25] The announcement also said that the existing board of directors, the existing Canadian employees, and the Kielburgers would leave WE Charity Canada. [26] The decision to wind down Canadian operations was attributed to the financial condition of the organization caused by the controversy surrounding the CSSG program and COVID-19. [27]

On January 15, 2024, Martin Luther King's 95th birthday, the National Football League announced a five-year commitment to Realizing the Dream, a partnership between the Martin Luther King III Foundation and a charity Kielberger co-founded called Legacy+, in which the NFL said that all of its teams would be participating. The initiative calls youth, teachers and communities across the United States and the world to perform 100 million hours of community service by Martin Luther King's 100th birthday in 2029. [28]

That night, King's oldest son and former Southern Christian Leadership Conference president Martin Luther King III appeared at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium for the NFC Wild Card Game, where he and his family stood at midfield for the pregame coin toss. Before the coin toss, King III was interviewed about the project, with Tampa mayor Jane Castor and former mayor Pam Iorio in attendance, where he said, "Certainly (the elder King) wanted to eradicate what he defined were the triple evils: poverty, racism and violence. But he also believed in civility and being together, and we could disagree without being disagreeable. Unfortunately, our nation is at a divided point. That’s sort of why football games and championships are so important, because they bring people together, from every walk of life." [28]

Several weeks later, on February 5, the Cincinnati Reds announced that it, too, had joined the Realizing the Dream initiative, with Martin Luther King III appearing at the Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park for the occasion. [29]

Kielburger and his brother Craig wrote a book with Martin Luther King III and his wife Arndrea Waters King titled What Is My Legacy?: Realizing a New Dream of Connection, Love and Fulfillment. Contributors to the book include the Dalai Lama, Julia Roberts, Yara Shahidi, Jay Shetty, Al Sharpton and Sanjay Gupta. The book is scheduled for release on January 14, 2025, the day before what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 96th birthday. Excerpts from the book were republished in People magazine. [30]

Canada Student Service Grant program

In June 2020, the Canadian government announced it had chosen WE Charity to run its new Canada Student Service Grant program. [31] The selection of WE Charity led to accusations of favouritism, since the government would be outsourcing a massive federal aid program to a private organization with ties to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family. [31] In July 2020, Marc Kielburger and fellow WE Charity co-founder Craig Kielburger announced they were pulling out of the grant contract due to the controversy it created. [31]

On 30 June 2020, the Canadian Press published a video of Marc Kielburger telling youth leaders earlier in the month that Trudeau's office had contacted WE Charity to see if the organization would administer the student aid program. Kielburger later said that he had mistakenly referred to the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister's Office also denied direct contact with WE Charity. [32] [33] Kielburger said the outreach came instead from officials at Employment and Social Development Canada. [32]

Personal life

Kielburger is married to Roxanne Joyal. [34] She is a Rhodes Scholar [35] and a fellow Member of the Order of Canada. [36] [37] They have two daughters. [38]

Publications

Further reading

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A political scandal took place in Canada in 2020 regarding the awarding of a federal contract to WE Charity to administer the $912 million Canada Student Service Grant program (CSSG). The controversy arose when it was revealed that the WE charity had previously paid close family of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appear at its events, despite making claims to the contrary. In total, Craig Kielburger confirmed at a parliamentary committee, WE Charity paid approximately $425,000 to Trudeau's family including expenses. WE Charity also used pictures of Trudeau's family members as celebrity endorsements in their application. Trudeau stated that WE Charity had been uniquely capable of administering the program as "the only possible option", and that it was the civil service, not him, who decided that WE Charity was the best option. It was noted that not only had the charity employed a daughter of former Finance Minister Bill Morneau but a close relationship existed between the minister and members of its staff.

What WE Lost: Inside the Attack on Canada's Largest Children's Charity is a book by Tawfiq S. Rangwala which documents the history of Canada's WE Charity scandal and its effects upon WE Charity. Rangwala, a New York City-based Canadian lawyer, sat on WE Charity's board of directors before stepping down in 2021 to write the book.

References

  1. 1 2 "The World Needs More Canada".
  2. ↑ "Governor General Announces New Appointments to the Order of Canada". January 20, 2019. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  3. ↑ Spiering, Brenda (March 22, 2019). "Two teachers who helped their kids start a movement". Canadian Living . Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ Langlois, Christine (September 21, 2009). "The accidental activists: Craig and Marc Kielburger". Canadian Living . Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Goddard, John (October 26, 2006). "The Kielburger crusade". Toronto Star . Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ Kennedy, Philippa (November 1, 2008). "A one-man mission turned global crusade". The National . Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  7. ↑ Buchan, Heather (November 26, 2009). "Thornhill's Person of the Year: Marc Kielburger". trnto.com. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Barlow, Reni (January 8, 2017). "CWSF Alumna Stephanie Gaglione – Rhodes Scholar". Youth Science Canada. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  9. ↑ Hanes, Tracy (September 16, 2016). "Schools benefit when charity becomes part of the curriculum". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  10. ↑ Ash, Peter (May 5, 2014). "Brebeuf has been making men out of boys for 50 years". The Catholic Register . Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  11. ↑ Neil, Brenda (January 6, 2018). "Students step outside". Preferred. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  12. ↑ Shields, Jennifer (December 11, 2017). "Carleton grad wins Rhodes Scholarship". The Charlatan, Carleton's independent newspaper. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  13. ↑ Javed, Noor; Hinkson, Kamila (January 7, 2013). "University of Toronto students snag three Rhodes Scholars spots". Toronto Star . Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Rhodes Scholars". Loran Scholars Foundation . Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Marc Kielburger, CM, OMC". One Young World. October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Marc and Craig Kielburger's do-gooding social enterprise" . Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Stars shine at We Day, inspire students to change the world". The Seattle Times. March 27, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Marc Kielburger and Leaders Today". charityvillage.com. August 28, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  19. ↑ Warner, Tyrone (May 27, 2008). "Kielburgers join forces with Oprah on new campaign". CTVNews. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Marc Kielburger a 'young global leader'". January 17, 2007 – via PressReader.
  21. ↑ Erlichman, Jon (April 4, 2019). "Freshii's top shareholder backs founder amid stock slide - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Marc Kielburger". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  23. ↑ "WE Charity winding down operations in Canada". CTVNews. September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  24. ↑ "WE Charity closing operations in Canada" . Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  25. ↑ Charity, W. E. "WE Charity Canada to wind down operations and set up endowment fund to support education and humanitarian programs". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  26. ↑ "WE Charity Canada to wind down operations and set up endowment fund to support education and humanitarian program" (PDF). September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  27. ↑ "WE Charity Canada to wind down operations and set up endowment fund to support education and humanitarian program" (PDF). September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  28. 1 2 Knight, Joey (January 15, 2024). "Family of Martin Luther King Jr. aligns with NFL to carry on 'dream'". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  29. ↑ Martin, Alexis (February 5, 2024). "Reds announce 'Realizing the Dream' initiative with Martin Luther King family". WXIX-TV . Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  30. ↑ Schumer, Lizz (November 12, 2024). "What Is My Legacy? Martin Luther King III's New Book Offers a Path to Fulfillment". People .
  31. 1 2 3 "We Charity cuts ties with Canada grant programme". BBC News. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  32. 1 2 "WE Charity co-founder said PMO 'called' to award $900M student-grant program, contradicting Trudeau". National Post. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Marc Kielburger backtracks after saying PMO contacted WE about $900M program". thestar.com. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Their love is built on helping others". thestar.com. March 9, 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Roxanne Joyal Profile". The Rhodes Project. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Order of Canada celebrates 50 years by welcoming new members". Toronto Sun. June 30, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Order of Canada Investiture Ceremony". The Governor General of Canada. January 22, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  38. ↑ "Moving From I To We As A Family". HuffPost Canada. June 13, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
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