The IN & OUTS

What is War Child?

* Established in 1999 War Child is an award winning charity that provides urgently needed humanitarian assistance to war-affected children in some of the most devastated regions of the world.

* War Child operates in nine countries with programs that benefit over 200,000 children and their families each year. War Child Canada currently works with communities in Haiti, Afghanistan, Darfur (Sudan), Uganda, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Georgia.

* War Child’s humanitarian programs focus on education, child rights, and poverty reduction. War Child always works collaboratively, and respectfully, with local partners and communities.

* War Child also works to educate and motivate youth in North America to support and advocate for children’s rights everywhere.

2. Why the need for War Child?

* Two-thirds (66%) of all casualties in war are children. In the past ten years, over 2 million children have been killed in armed conflicts.

* 18 million children have been forced to flee their homes because of war.

* 300,000 children have been conscripted into armed forces around the world.

3. What percentage of a donation goes towards War Child’s international programs?

* More than 90 cents of every dollar received goes towards War Child’s international programs. The organization keeps administrative costs low in order to ensure that funds raised go directly towards children and their families affected by war.

4. War Child Canada and Music:

* Since its inception War Child has benefited from the generous support of the music industry to help raise awareness and funds for its programming.

5. Busking for CHANGE

* 2007 – Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace busks for 12 hours in Toronto and raises enough money to rebuild a school in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
* 2008 – Busking for CHANGE is launched in Toronto with over 50 musicians taking to the street to raise money for War Child and the war-affected kids they support.
* 2009 – Busking initiatives in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver raised over $100,000 for War Child.
* 2010 Busking For Change Montreal March 2nd will see celebrated musicians busking in the cities Metro Stations (Berri-Uqam and Place des Arts), and the Eaton Centre (3 locations), to raise urgently needed money for children whose lives have been torn apart by war. 8:00AM – 6:30PM.
* Spring / Aldo Group and War Child: Spring (myspringshoes.com) is part sponsoring Busking for Change. Spring has been a partner of War Child for over a year – selling bracelets in their stores ($5 available now) and online with 100% net proceeds benefiting War Child. They have raised enough money to rebuild three schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two of the schools opened their doors to students in September 2009.