Natalie Cloutier's Story
I first heard about Leaders Today when I was invited by a teacher to one of their leadership workshops. As soon as I heard that this was an initiative started by Marc and Craig Kielburger, I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I was!
To me, a student from a small town in Northern Alberta, Craig Kielburger was the 12-year-old boy from a movie we had watched to encourage us to make change. I felt incredibly inspired by the fact I was even invited to this workshop.
The first two people I met when I walked into the workshop were our leaders, Scott and Robin. I must admit that the first time I laid eyes on them I was completely shocked—I’d had no idea people could be so passionate about everything! Scott and Robin were so crazy, wacky and ecstatic that it was contagious.
I remember the first time the two of them wanted us to play the game Buggies Up. I thought they were insane—there was no way I was going to get up and make a fool of myself in front of all of the people I had just met. For some reason, though, I stepped up to the task and I have continued facing my fears and taking chances ever since. This story is about some of the challenges I’ve undertaken since Leaders Today inspired me to work for a better world.
At the workshop, we learned about the unfair cycle of coffee production and about how simple changes can make a difference. This inspired me and a friend to make change in our community. Once we got home, we immediately started holding meetings to think of a way to transform the thoughts of the people in our town. After a while we came up with an action plan. We would market a reusable mug and at the same time would promote fair trade coffee. We set to work right away.
Today, our company is called Mug Shot and has the tag line, “Don’t get Caught in the Coffee Crime.” The mug is a hit with friends and family, and we hope to soon sell the mugs in coffee shops around town.
Another thing we were encouraged to do at that workshop was to break into groups and start action planning for a cause we believed in. All of us knew there was a huge bullying problem in our school, but before this workshop nobody openly discussed it or even talked about it at all. At the workshop we decided that this was an issue that finally needed to be addressed, and a few of my peers and I immediately started planning.
Once home, the planning meetings quickly turned into action, and we started holding fun workshops to bring awareness about bullying to everyone in our school. At first people’s reactions weren’t pleasant, and most people thought it was just a joke. But as we talked, people got more comfortable with the ideas we had for change. Soon everyone was coming together in three of our stop-bullying initiatives.
One of these initiatives was an awesome graffiti wall where students drew and wrote positive paintings and messages. It was encouraging that students could see their fellow students’ souls in a positive light. Another was a poetry contest to promote diversity and for the third—one of my favourites—we organized a unity chain where everyone in the school linked hands through the hallways to create a sense of unity and togetherness. Bullying in our school has been on a downward swing since we've put these initiatives into practice. People know it’s wrong and now have the will to stand up for themselves.
The impact of Leaders Today on my life didn’t end with the workshop or with the actions I took directly afterwards. Through Robin’s encouragement last summer I went on a trip to the Ukraine to visit a girl I sponsor there named Ivanna. I pay for the sponsorship with money I earn teaching piano lessons.
This trip helped me to understand more about poverty and other social issues while also giving me the unique opportunity to meet my sponsored child. The trip changed my life. Ivanna sincerely showed me the truth of the statement: “If you can help one person, you can help the world.”
My experiences with Leaders Today and with Scott and Robin have made a humungous impact on my life. They have made me into a better leader and have given me knowledge of social injustice issues. They have opened my eyes to things like poverty and bullying and to the reality that there’s so much I can do to bring about positive change. Now I use this knowledge to change my life and the lives of others around me.
Today, whenever I walk into a room I aspire to be a laughing, passionate leader just like both Scott and Robin.
Mailing List