Industry Lifestyle and travel Key people Roxanne Joyal
(CEO) Founded 2008 Type Social enterprise | Area served Worldwide Website metowe.com Headquarters Toronto | |
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Divisions Trips
Leadership training
Style
Artisans CEO Roxanne Joyal Kielburger (2008–) Founders Craig Kielburger, Marc Kielburger Profiles | ||
ME to WE is a for-profit social enterprise founded in 2008 by Canadian brothers Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger that provides socially responsible products and services and donates half of its net profits to non-profit partner WE Charity, formerly known as Free The Children.It is also part of the WE network of organizations.
Contents
This is me to we
History
ME to WE begun when brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger of Thornhill, Ontario, travelled to Ecuador in their teens to build a school for a developing community. Inspired by their own volunteer experiences, they founded ME to WE, originally called "Leaders Today," to offer leadership training and volunteer trips to developing communities served by their charity WE Charity, formerly known as Free The Children. They also wrote the book Me to We, with contributions by Oprah Winfrey, Richard Gere, Jane Goodall, Desmond Tutu and others, explaining their philosophy of volunteerism, service to others and social involvement.
Mission and structure
ME to WE is a socially conscious lifestyle brand, with half of its annual net profits donated to Free The Children, now known as WE Charity, and the other half reinvested to keep the social enterprise sustainable. The enterprise has been noted in Canadian media for setting new standards of governance in the social enterprise field.
Offerings include:
ME to WE Trips
ME to WE runs volunteer trips for various groups to a number of developing countries around the world, such as China, Ecuador, India, Kenya, and Nicaragua
Notable individuals who have traveled on ME to WE trips include Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas, Hedley, Kardinal Offishall, Nelly Furtado and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Participants volunteer in communities where ME to WE's charity partner WE Charity (formerly known as Free The Children) has longstanding relationships, and they contribute to the advancement of those projects – by helping with construction of schools or water wells. They also are immersed in the local culture with home visits and customary celebrations; and they participate in workshop to develop understanding of local history and issues, and as well as gain leadership skills to make a difference on their return home.
A trip experience in Kenya is the "water walk," where participants join Kenyan women on their daily trek to collect water for their families.
ME to WE Artisans
Roxanne Joyal founded ME to WE Artisans in 2009, which works with women in Kenya. These women receive a sustainable source of alternative income for their work; ME to WE states that more than 812 women earn fair wages from traditional beading skills to make fashion accessories for the North American market.
As of October 2014, the program employs about 1,200 women in Kenya, in 34 independent beading collectives in 14 communities.
Other activities
Founder Craig Kielburger appears on Toronto news channel CP24 on regular segments focused on socially responsible lifestyle tips, entitled "Living ME to WE". The enterprise also operates a retail store in Toronto that features its products and services.