Young girl inspires many others to help make a difference for the homeless

Hundreds of people living homeless on Canadian streets have received food, shelter and hope, thanks to a young girl who cannot understand why there is homelessness in Canada. Her Ladybug Foundation, created in 2004, creates understanding about homelessness, and provides funding to registered frontline charitable organizations that provide food, shelter and other needs of the homeless and near homeless in Canada. The foundation is run by volunteers who share her belief in the power of caring.

Hannah Taylor, now 11, first became aware of homelessness in her hometown, Winnipeg, Manitoba, when she was five years old. "What first happened was that I saw the first homeless person I'd ever seen in my life," she said in an interview in 2007. "We were driving down a back lane, and I saw him, and he was eating out of a garbage can. I asked my mom what he was doing, and why he was doing it, because it was the first time I'd ever seen a homeless person. And she gently told me that the man's homeless, and they do what they have to do to eat. So after a year of worrying about this and asking questions about homelessness, my mom finally told me, "Well Hannah, maybe if you do something about it, maybe your heart won't feel so bad." So I went to my grade one teacher the next day, and I asked her if I could talk to the class about what I understand about homelessness, and what we could do to help. So I did speak to my class, and we ended up having a bake and art sale, and giving all the proceeds and clothes and stuff to a local mission. And it got bigger from there."

Since May 2004, Hannah has spoken to many thousands of people across Canada and elsewhere in the world about homelessness and hunger. She also hosts Big Bosses lunches, where she meets with business leaders. "When I was little, I thought my dad was a big boss downtown," Hannah explained in the 2007 interview. "But as I grew older, I discovered that my dad isn't the biggest boss. And there must be more big bosses downtown. So I started taking big bosses in Winnipeg out to lunch, one at a time. And then one day, after having [a lunch with a big boss], I came home frustrated and said to my Mom, "It would be so much easier if I could get them all together, give them juice and a sandwich, and talk about the Ladybug Foundation." Because one big boss can make a difference, but lots of big bosses can make an even bigger difference. So that's how the Big Bosses lunches came to be.”

Much of the money Hannah raises comes from her Ladybug jars -- red jars painted to look like ladybugs and used to collect spare change across Canada during "Make Change" month. Seeing how other groups placed cans in stores to raise money; Hannah and her mother began spraypainting her baby sister’s used babyfood jars and decorating them with ladybugs. Now a company donates spraypainted jars, but Hannah and her mother still paint the ladybugs.

Hannah and The Ladybug Foundation have raised (directly through the Foundation and indirectly for homeless projects in Canada) more than $1 million - from people across the country and from corporate donors, unions, business organizations, industry and other associations, schools, school children, entertainment events, and fundraising events and initiatives. The Ladybug Foundation has supported 29 organizations who work in 10 Canadian cities and communities, focusing on those which directly affect the lives of street people and following Hannah’s “Rule”: “I love them like family, they need that most of all.” In Winnipeg, the Foundation helped support a new emergency shelter, primarily funded by the federal government, that is called Hannah's Place.

The National Film Board has made a movie about homelessness and her work, and Hannah has received many awards. She was named a BRICK Award winner in the category of Community Building in 2007. Since 1996, the US-based BRICK Awards have honored young world-changers, ensuring they get the recognition normally given to athletes, actors, and others. Hannah also was the youngest recipient ever of the Future Leader Award from the Women's Executive Network in 2007, and currently sits as a jury member for the World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child.

Now she is planning to convince other children that they can also change the world. The Ladybug Foundation Education Program Inc., a separately funded non-profit registered charitable organization, has developed “Make Change”, an education resource to empower children in changing their community, their country, and their world. The program, which is currently being piloted, is expected to be generally available in September 2008.

The Foundation has designated Jan. 31 as National Red Scarf Day, a day to show support, love and care for Canada's hungry and homeless people. This story was prepared from information on the Ladybug Foundation website, the Golden BRICK Awards site, and from an interview with Hannah on the site of Howstuffworks.

 


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