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{{UPE|date=March 2020}}
{{short description|Canadian social enterprise, part of WE family}}
{{short description|Canadian social enterprise, part of WE family}}
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company

Revision as of 10:41, 29 March 2020

Me to We
Company typeSocial enterprise[1]
IndustryLifestyle and travel
FoundedToronto
2008
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Roxanne Joyal
(CEO)
DivisionsTrips
Leadership training
Style
Artisans
Websitemetowe.com

ME to WE is a social enterprise selling lifestyle products, leadership training and travel experience to help fund partner organization WE Charity.[2] ME to WE was founded in 2008 by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Half of ME to WE's profits are donated to WE Charity to support its operating costs, while the remainder is reinvested back into the social enterprise.[2][3]

History

Following the founding of WE Charity (formerly known as Free The Children) in 1995, Craig and Marc Kielburger launched a program called "Leaders Today", to offer leadership training to young people and volunteer trips to developing communities served by their charity.[4] In 2008, the Kielburgers launched the for-profit social enterprise ME to WE, which continued the trips program, and added the sale of socially conscious retail items.[3]

According to an interview with Marc Kielburger, ME to WE was created after eBay’s founding CEO Jeff Skoll challenged the Kielburgers to find a way to financially sustain their charity.[5] Separate governance and legal structures were established for ME to WE and WE Charity to meet Canadian legal requirements.[6]

Mission

ME to WE offers socially conscious products and international travel experiences,[3] the sale of which supports WE Charity’s development projects, including the construction of new schools and water projects, health programming and economic opportunity programs.[7] Each ME to WE retail product comes with a “Track Your Impact” code that allows a consumer to track the country, region and specific impact their purchase had.[8]

In 2015, ME to WE received certification as a B Corporation for meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. It received an overall impact score of 108. The median score for non-certified businesses is 50.9.[9]

From 2014 to 2017, ME to WE donated roughly 85 percent of its profits to WE Charity. The remainder was reinvested to grow the social enterprise and pay fair wages to the farmers and artisans it employs in South America and Africa. [10] ME to WE donated $1.1 million to WE Charity in 2016 and $1.5 million in 2017.[11]

ME to WE Trips

ME to WE runs volunteer trips to a number of developing countries around the world, such as Ecuador, India and Kenya.[12] The social enterprise promotes a model of “purposeful” travel, with partial profits from trips going to support WE Charity’s international development projects, such as school building and sustainable water projects.[13] Trip participants contribute to the advancement of these projects by helping with construction of schools or wells.[14]

Some of the organization’s celebrity ambassadors have taken trips with ME to WE, including Demi Lovato,[15] Lilly Singh,[16] Olivia Holt,[17] Reality TV show Property Brothers star Drew Scott, Kardinal Offishall, and Jordan Fisher.[18] Education activist Malala Yousafzai travelled to Kenya with ME to WE in 2014.[19]

ME to WE Artisans

ME to WE Artisans was founded in 2009 by CEO Roxanne Joyal. The program started in rural Kenya, with 25 Maasai women.[20] According to Joyal, She created the Artisans program to provide women with a sustainable source of employment, hand-crafting jewellery inspired by their traditional designs and tailored to a North American market.[21]

Women employed by ME to WE Artisans are paid per piece for their work—often two or three times what they were earning before for the same work. The women are also provided with training on financial literacy.[22] As a result, many are able to invest part of their income in small businesses and the education of their children.[23]

Some artisans products have been designed by ME to WE’s celebrity partners. YouTube personality Lilly Singh designed and promoted a line of beaded bracelets called “#GirlLove Rafikis,” as part of her campaign to end “girl on girl hate.”[24][25] Proceeds from the sale of the bracelets went to supporting girls’ education in Kenya.

Artisans accessories have been worn publicly by celebrities including Jennifer Hudson, Nelly Furtado, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and the Jonas Brothers.[26]

References

  1. ^ Me to We
  2. ^ a b "Craig and Marc Kielburger believe changing the world is possible". Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  3. ^ a b c "Marc and Craig Kielburger's do-gooding social enterprise". Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  4. ^ Christine Langlois, "The accidental activists: Craig and Marc Kielburger", Canadian Living, September 21, 2009.
  5. ^ Scudamore, Brian. "WE Co-Founder Marc Kielburger On Mentors, Mandela, And Spurring Social Change At 17". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  6. ^ "Me to We – An innovative Social Enterprise". Mission Measurement. 2015-07-31. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  7. ^ TACK10 (2018-04-12). "#ThursdayTop 3 Canadian Purpose-Driven Organizations". TACK10. Retrieved 2019-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Ron Paul: Social Enterprise". Campaign for Liberty. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  9. ^ "ME to WE | Certified B Corporation". bcorporation.net. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  10. ^ "Social enterprise is the solution we need right now". Washington Examiner. 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  11. ^ "WE Charity". www.charityintelligence.ca. Retrieved 2019-01-21. [verification needed]
  12. ^ "Celebrating World Tourism Day by Announcing Global Partnership with ME to WE". thetravelcorporation.com. Retrieved 2019-01-21. [verification needed]
  13. ^ Gollan, Doug. "Meet The Biggest Travel Company You've Never Heard Of". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-01-21. [verification needed]
  14. ^ Koch, Amy Tara (2018-07-04). "5 Summer Programs for Teens That Teach Empathy Through Community Service". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  15. ^ Nast, Condé. "Demi Lovato Takes Us Along on Her Trip to Africa". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  16. ^ "Lilly Singh Teams Up With Me to We to Launch #GirlLove Rafiki Bracelets". CelebMix. 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  17. ^ "Olivia Holt on the Week in Kenya That Changed Her Life". InStyle.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  18. ^ "Celebrities humbled by African trips". Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  19. ^ "Malala Yousafzai: 'I could either not speak and die, or speak and then". The Independent. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  20. ^ "Roxanne Joyal". www.cpacanada.ca. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  21. ^ Fashion (2013-04-20). "Me to We Artisans inspires style and social responsibility | National Post". Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  22. ^ Nast, Condé. "This New Fossil Collection Helps You Empower Women Around The World". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2019-01-21. [verification needed]
  23. ^ Davis, Heather Greenwood. "How fair trade jewellery is changing the lives of Kenyan women". Canadian Living. Retrieved 2019-01-21. [verification needed]
  24. ^ "The Lilly Singh Empire: #GirlLove, 14 Million Subs, & Toothbrushes". Techvibes. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  25. ^ Bhagat, Rahil. "YouTuber Lilly Singh Is Hoping To Use The Platform To Help Women Around The World". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  26. ^ "Yorkdale Me to We pop-up offers one-stop Christmas shopping | The Star". thestar.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
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