Bina Hwangbo

Title: Leadership Facilitator
Interesting Fact: Once an aspiring actress, Bina was an extra in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.

Bina Hwangbo first heard about Free The Children when Craig Kielburger spoke to one of her University of Toronto classes. After hearing his inspiring story about taking action against child labour, she was motivated to make her own difference in the world. She joined the team in 2008 as a leadership facilitator.

Having been raised by a busy single mother, Bina spent a lot of time with her friends, unaware of what was going on elsewhere in the world. It wasn’t until she went to university that she realized there was more to life than her own needs. Bina’s first step in trying to make a difference came in the form of reaching out to the homeless. She organized a campaign with a group of young people to hand out sandwiches, fruit and bottles of water to people living on the streets of downtown Toronto. Bina marks this as a pivotal turning point in her life. She realized then that everyone has a unique story to tell and, despite our differing financial situations, we are all human and deserving of help when in need. During this period of newfound awareness and reflection, Bina also volunteered with autistic children and considers it the greatest privilege of her life to be in the company of such awesome kids.

Bina’s passion is to go wherever compassion is needed. She wants to reach out not only to others in distant regions around the world, but to the people she comes in contact with every day. Being a gifted piano player and having just picked up the guitar, Bina loves to spend her nights playing cover songs and pretending she’s in a rock band. Her motto is, “Live to love at any cost.”