The Best Way To Spread Holiday Cheer Is Singing Loud For All To Hear

What better way to get into the holiday spirit than to give back to our communities? This December 1st, our Toronto MOBilizers gathered in Little Italy to do just that!

We started the afternoon by sharing some delicious food at Julia's house provided by our lovely MOBilizers! There we shared stories about school, our favourite holiday traditions and discussed our plans for upcoming campaigns including We Stand Together, We Are Love and our Year End Event. Are you excited? You should be!

Afterwards, we took to the streets of Little Italy where we carolled our hearts out and collected non-perishable food items from the generous community members!

All in all we collected 50 non-perishable food items for local food banks and managed to bring some smiles to the faces of residents in the Little Italy area!

On behalf of the Toronto Free The Children MOBilizers we'd like to wish you and your family a happy holiday season and we will see you in January for our We Stand Together volunteer day and documentary screening event!

MAD MOB LOVIN
Toronto Mobilizers Leadership Team

Kick Off 2012!

Ladies and gentlemen the MOB year has officially begun!

After a great time at We Day Toronto a few weeks ago (which will be aired on Much Music November 11th at 7pm for all those who want to relive the magic), our Toronto MOB team joined together on October 13th ready and motivated to start the year off right!

After some brief introductions our outdoor location got a tad too cold and rainy for our MOB, but innovation is always a sign of leadership and we were able to find an alternate (warmer) location to discuss communication rules, the Adopt A Village model (which you can find at http://www.freethechildren.com/international-programming/our-model/), plans for the year and our main fundraising goal: A water project in Llullin Totoras, Ecuador!

This has been our MOB Village for several years now and this summer Alice and Daniela got the chance to work on putting the money MOBs across Canada and the USA have raised to work building the second floor on another new school building. However, they also saw the need for improved water and sanitation in the village and we're all super excited to work to make that a reality!

After sharing ideas about the year's campaigns and events, Alex and Asha led the group in an awesome jam session as we shared munchies and got to know each other better!

photo creds to Monique!

Looking forward to a great year with the Toronto MOBilizers of 2012-2013! We'll see you later this month for our first campaign WE SCARE HUNGER! Be sure to watch your emails, the blog, Twitter and Facebook for more details!

MAD MOB LOVIN!
-Alice, Daniela, Dylan, Julia

Meet Your MOB!

Weeeeeee're back! 

We hope you've all had amazing summers whether they were spent adventuring at home or abroad...maybe even on a Me To We Trip or at Academy perhaps? Either way, we can't wait to hear all about them at our KICK OFF event happening OCTOBER 13TH! Be sure to check your emails for more info, but until then, we'd like to introduce you to some of the people who'll be shaping your 2012/2013 MOB experience this year...your fantastic LEADS! 

Name: Alice Lambert

From: Toronto, Ontario

Schooling: Currently in grade 11 at Collège français de Toronto 

I first got involved with Me to We when I participated on an amazing trip to Ecuador last summer. I was fortunate enough to meet 25 incredible like-minded young people, including Daniela! After my trip I was so inspired to continue working with FTC/Me to We that I decided to become a part of the Mobilizer movement. 

Prior to my trip to Ecuador, I was and still am a part of my social justice club at my school. Through this club I have participated in many awareness and fundraising campaigns including a 24 hour hunger strike which raised $3,500 for Doctors Without Borders in Somalia and a documentary which was designed to educate students about native youth in Canada.

I'm super excited to be a part of the 2012/2013 Toronto Mob and I can't wait to get started!

Future aspirations: TBD

Favorite book: A Thousand Slpendid Suns

Favorite Movie: Fish Called Wanda

Name: Daniela Spagnuolo

From: Toronto, Ontario

Schooling: First year International Development Co-op student at University of Toronto Scarborough

I got involved in the MOBilizers program 4 years ago when I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at 2009's Toronto We Day! After hearing about the program I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of and I haven't looked back since! The MOB's given me so many great friends and opportunities, including the chance to attend Me To We's Academy in 2011 and building a school in our MOB village of Llullin Totoras, Ecuador this summer (which is where I met Alice!). I've also been involved in a number of social justice initiatives in my high school and can't wait to start getting involved at university! After a super successful MOB year last year, I'm super stoked to come back and work with this year's awesome MOBilizers, Masses and fellow leadership team to make this the most incredible year yet! 

Future Aspirations: Working for an NGO and writing about it! (or becoming a food truck driver on "Eat St")

Favourite Movie: "Cinema Paradiso" or "The Terminal"

Favourite Book: anything by Ellen Hopkins 

Weirdest Fact: I've never seen "Star Wars"….apparently this makes me unfit for living on this planet. Whoops. 

Name: Dylan Bruxer

From : Seaforth, Ontario

Schooling : York University Bachelor of Arts Honours Specialization in Human Rights and Equity Studies 

I began working with FTC/Me - to We by joining my high schools Me - to - We group, and attending the Kenya Mission Trip the following summer.  After that experience, I kept working hard with my schools group to raise close to $65,000 in three years for an all girls high school in Kenya called, Kisaruni.  I am now continuing in the same path and joined the Mobilizers to hopefully bring the same determination and energy, so this year will be the best ever! 

Future Aspirations: Law School or working for an NGO 

Favourite Movie: Mean Girls, I Am and Prayers for Bobby

Favourite Book: Namesake and Its Kind of A Funny Story…. I'm not an avid reader

Weirdest Fact: My dream goal apart from saving the world is perfecting the art of "smizing" a technique invented by Tyra Banks

Name: Julia Wilton 

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario 

Schooling: 3rd year at the University of Toronto, working towards a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction with a major in Political Science (Global Governance & International law) and Peace, Conflict, and Justice Studies 

Free The Children has been with me since I was merely twelve years old. The story of a young boy who happened to be the same age as myself named Craig Kielburger inspired me to find something that I was passionate about and champion it. The search for my passion has lead me to multiple corners of the world - from all over Canada, the United States and Europe to rural villages in India and Central America to Israel and the Middle East, with Africa to come this summer. The one common theme? People. People are my everything. They are my passion, they are my downfall. What better way to help people than to work with one of the most renowned organizations in the world? I have been involved with Free The Children since I was twelve, and am a vintage member of the Mobilizers community. I’ve witnessed the growth and incredible development of so many incredible youth, and cannot properly express the gratitude I feel to be leading you this year. We can do great things, my friends, and believe me, we will. Together we can! 

Future Aspirations: Harvard Law (and then maybe the United Nations, Prime Minister, or to take over the world... for the better, of course!) 

Favourite Movie: American Beauty/Big Fish 

Favourite Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald / Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels / any poetry ever 

Weirdest fact: I’m obsessed with a man who has been dead for 49 years. John Fitzgerald Kennedy is ma main man. Say what. 

These 4 lovely people will be your point people for the Toronto MOB this year, but even though our title is "Lead", we really want this year to be about listening to the MOBilizers so we can find a way to follow your passions about what YOU want to see the MOB do! We also would like to bring your attention to our main fundraising effort this year...

WATER PROJECTS IN LLULLIN TOTORAS, ECUADOR!

You can find out more about Llullin by following this link 

www.freethechildren.com/reporting/totoras 

or strike up a conversation with Alice or Daniela who were in Llullin this summer working on the school YOU helped fund with all your hard work last year! Who knows? Maybe next year some of you will spend your summer in Llullin working on this project!

We can't wait to meet all our MOBilizers at Kickoff and see all the Masses out at events this year! Until then, keep in touch with us!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dttomobilizers

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DTTOmobilizers

Email: torontomobilizers@yahoo.ca

MAD MOB LOVING!

Alice, Daniela, Dylan and Julia

MOB Co-Leads 2012-2013

"See you later"

We don't like goodbyes.
They're sad, there's a lot of tears and snot flying everywhere and everyone leaves a little more dejected than when they came.
We really don't like those feelings.

That's why last night's MOB Year End Dinner at Jack Astor's Yonge & Bloor was not a goodbye, but rather, a "see you later" celebration of all we've achieved in the 2011-2012 year and all that is to come in the 2012-2013 year!

We talked about our amazing adventures at Silent Cities and We Days! We laughed about memories from Trips and Academies! We shared stories about MOB years past and hopes for MOB years future! We even enjoyed some fantastic food while we were at it!

We're so honoured to have been able to spend this year with YOU! Our amazing MOBilizers, Masses and community supporters! Thank you for being a part of the family that allowed us to support causes in Canada, Haiti and Ecuador and do our part to make the world a better place! 

Mad MOB lovin' also goes out to the amazing Free The Children team, especially our pals Kevin and Gabby at BaseCamp who stopped by yesterday to make the night even more special!

But even though our year is over it doesn't mean our time together is through! We'll be looking to see you all (plus some new faces!) back for next year and here's how it's going down!

The application for the new MOB year is now online at https://forms.freethechildren.com/?&module=mobilizers/application&cmd=page1! You'll notice that you now have two choices MOBilize and Masses.

For those looking to take on a more active leadership role, engage in the planning process and are willing to commit a large amount of time to the (MOB)ilizers, the MOBilize option is the one for you!

For those who aren't sure how much time they want to commit, or want more of a supporting role rather than being involved in planning and leadership the Masses option is where you want to be!

We can't wait to see you back next year so make sure you fill out your application by June 29th 2012! Even if you're going to a new city, there are MOBs across Canada and the US to keep you involved in the movement! If you have any questions please email us at dt.to.mobilizers@gmail.com, Facebook us at http://www.facebook.com/dttomobilizers or Tweet us at https://twitter.com/#!/DTTOmobilizers! 

This summer we hope you enjoy whatever adventures are coming your way, and make sure you tell us all about them! We also encourage you to check out Spencer West's Redefine Possible Campaign and maybe even sponsor a step for $10 at http://www.freethechildren.com/redefinepossible/!

Have an amazing summer and we'll see you in September!

MAD MOB LOVIN!

The Downtown Toronto MOBilizers Leadership Team

Lindsey Swartzman (MOB Lead), Daniela Spagnuolo (Core Team Lead), Carly Carrigan (Core Team Lead), Julia Wilton (Core Team Lead)

You'll Want To Catch This Viral Video Campaign!

April's been a great month in the Me to We/Free the Children world!

From the launch of Craig and Marc's new book Living Me to We (http://www.metowe.com/shop/products/living-me-to-we) to Five Days for Freedom (http://www.fivedaysforfreedom.com/) to the quickly approaching Redefine Possible campaign (http://www.freethechildren.com/redefinepossible/), a lot of exciting stuff has been going on!

On the MOB side of things we've also been keeping busy with our April Viral Video Campaign! The Richmond Hill/GTA Pod has been hard at work making, promoting and sharing four awesome videos with you guys! You've LIKE'd them on our Facebooks, you've RT'd them on our Twitters, now we want to see just how viral these awesome vids go! So post 'em, tweet 'em, e-mail them! Show your classes, share them with your friends and get inspired by the hard work our MOBilizers are doing to spread the message of social activism!

EDUCATION

WATER

ENVIRONMENT

HEALTHY LIVING

http://vimeo.com/40841463

We can't wait to see you all in May for the Downtown Pod's event, so keep sharing those videos and keeping updated on how YOU'RE changing the world! 

MAD MOB LOVIN♥

The DTTO MOB Leadership Team!

PS: Looking for something to do this summer? There's still time to sign up for Academy! http://www.metowe.com/leadership/take-action It'll be a week you'll never forget...trust us! It's awesome!

A (MOB)tastic Weekend For All!

This weekend our lovely Downtown Toronto (MOB)ilizers got the chance to spread some love and inspire others over two events in the city!

On Friday evening the (MOB)ilizers took to Nathan Philips Square to offer Free Hugs to people heading home from work (or weddings!) and raise awareness for mental health and bullying which has been this month's theme!

On Saturday, we also had some (MOB)ilizers attend the Toronto Youth Summit held by Free The Children where they participated in workshops and activities about different social justice issues, people and events! They also got the chance to hear from amazing speakers like Hamza and Thansha, two FTC staff speakers and spoken word poet Noah Kaplan!

 Our very own Deepa Prashad also took to the stage to talk about winning the What Would You Say contest at this year's We Day and her amazing work collecting books for kids around the world!

Our (MOB)ilizers did some pretty spectacular stuff this weekend and we're looking forward to what April has in store with our online campaign from the Richmond Hill/GTA pod and more events coming your way!

MAD MOB LOVIN<3
-DTTO MOB Leadership Team♥

#MOBtakesMTL

What do you get when 2000 shamelessly idealistic youth from across the country come together to a theatre in Montreal?

It's called WE DAY and in the words of the Kielburger bros, "We Day is the movement of our time". It is neon-swagged-out crowd pumpers dancing on stage to Night Like This, it is a theatre full of people giving standing ovations to speakers like Rev. Jesse Jackson, Martin Sheen and Spencer West, it is the passion of you, the (MOB)ilizers who endured bus rides, missed school and stacks of catch up work to be there for the action.

At National We Day you showed us that you are a part of the MOVEMENT!

From February 29th to March 3rd, the Downtown Toronto (MOB)ilizers joined (MOB)ilizers from cities like Guelph, Hamilton, Muskoka, Ottawa, Montreal, Windsor and even some guests came together for a solid few days of inspiration and bonding. From hearing Craig and Marc speak at We Day to playing Step Up To The Line to sightseeing and shopping, this was the trip of a lifetime and we were so glad to spend it together!

We'll see you all next month for our anti-bullying campaign and at the Youth Summit in Toronto!
MAD MOB LOVIN
-The DTTO MOB Leadership Team

PS: remember to LIKE We Day on Facebook at facebook.com/weday! 1 LIKE = $1 donated to FTC by their sponsors!

Every First World Has A Third World...

What an amazing night!
Last night, our West End pod came together to organize an event at the Barbara Frum Library to promote Free The Children's Local Spotlight campaign, which raises awareness about Aboriginal Issues in Canada in partnership with the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative.

The event kicked off with an amazing performance by Lost And Found!

Afterwards we heard Free The Children speaker Jenna McCauley talk to us about her Aboriginal heritage and the problems facing youth who live on Canadian reserves. It was shocking to see some of the images of poverty and despair that exist in Canada and hear about all the barriers that face our fellow Canadian youth. Thanks to Jenna's speech, each person left the event inspired to learn more about the struggles Aboriginal people in Canada face and got a better understanding of what it's like to live in the dire conditions that exist in our own nation. To find out more about what Free The Children is doing to help Aboriginal youth, visit www.freethechildren.com/aboriginaleducation.

After getting a chance to enjoy some treats generously donated by Starbucks at Yonge and Brookdale and United Bakers at Lawrence Plaza, along with some snacks made by our (MOB)ilizers, we resumed our performances with sets by (MOB)ilizers Jordan and Alee as well as a fantastic rendition of 'Viva La Vida' by Manuel!

Next we heard from Kathleen and Jonathan who performed "Disaster" and saw an awesome performance by dancer Angela!

Finally we raffled off two $25 gift certificates to In Style Shoes on Avenue Road and ended up raising $103 for our village of Llullin Totoras, Ecuador!

We're so proud of the West End pod for putting this event together and the entire DTTO MOB for coming out and bringing their friends! We'd like to challenge each of you to learn more about Aboriginal Issues and share that knowledge with those around you in order to bring awareness to the injustices that face our fellow Canadians, for it is only when we know about an issue and care about those affected that we can truly find tangible solutions.

Next month, look out for another awesome MOB campaign and get excited for National We Day only 5 days away!!!

Mad MOB Lovin' <3
-The DTTO MOB Leadership Team

Volunteer Madness Goal #1 Achieved!

CONGRATULATIONS!
DTTO MOB has officially completed all our Volunteer Madness hours for Community Necessity which allowed us to X Winnipeg MOB with this awesome video by our West End Pod!

Make sure to keep those hours coming and look out for an epic event from the West End Pod coming your way at the end of the month for our Local Spotlight theme of Aboriginal Issues!

Great work team and Mad MOB Loving from the DTTO MOB LEADERSHIP TEAM ♥

BaseCamp Visits Downtown Toronto!

What a great way to kick off the new year!

We hope you all had a fantastic holiday and are looking forward to having a MOB-tastic 2012!
We know the leadership team sure is, and what better way to kick off this year than with a visit from BaseCamp!?!?

Yesterday Kevin and Gabby came by our MOB event to run us through some team builders and chats about the new year! Get excited people, with each pod responsible for a month, this year's going to be full of some epic events, campaigns and hang outs! Make sure you stay in contact with your pod leads in the next little bit for information about your pod's month!

Finally we closed off the day with a special message from our friends in the Guelph MOB and some info about all the really cool stuff going down for the rest of the year, including National We Day and Volunteer Madness!

National We Day is an incredible conference event happening in Montreal on March 1st. If anyone is interested in coming to this event, get in touch with your pod leader ASAP!

Volunteer Madness is a MOB-wide competition with each of the 31 MOB cities responsible for collecting 15  volunteer hours per MOBilizer. This means that as the DTTO MOB, we're collectively responsible for 690 volunteer hours in Community Activity (ex-coaching, tutoring, etc), Community Necessity (ex-feeding the homeless, volunteering at a hospital, etc) and Environmental (ex-picking up trash, animal shelter, etc) by March 22nd, 2011. These hours will be collected individually, in our pods and as a MOB in order to reach our goal. We'll also have the opportunity to X another city for 48 hours once we reach a specific number of hours. During that 48 hours the X'd city will not be able to submit any volunteer hours towards their MOB goal. When you complete your hours, get in touch with your pod lead so we can record our hours and work on achieving our goal and WINNING Volunteer Madness!


Sound like exciting stuff? It is! And we're super stoked to share the next couple months with all of you!
MAD MOB LOVING FROM THE DTTO MOB LEADERSHIP TEAM!