At only 16, when many of his peers are thinking about what kind of fun they want to have on the weekend and the parties they want to go to, Brennan Wong’s outlook is a bit more broad. Brennan, a student at Richmond Hill High School, has had a strong focus on global citizenship and giving back to his community since he was a small child.
“I think it all started when I was nine years old,” said Brennan, recalling the time he first became aware of the Free The Children charity. “It’s really taken me on this journey.”
After years as a Free The Children ambassador raising more than $75,000 for international development projects, Brennan has started his own organization committed to inspiring volunteer spirit in youth, Pledges for Change.
Pledges for Change is a Canada-wide foundation that donates one dollar to a registered charity for every actionable pledge they receive. The group’s first $1,000 was recently donated to Habitat for Humanity of York Region.
“It all starts when people are inspired to take one simple action,” said Brennan, who started the charity following a volunteer trip to Ecuador. “We saw all the community members come together helping us build the school.”
Outside of his efforts with Pledges for Change and Free The Children, Brennan is also involved with numerous volunteer, cultural and athletic groups at school and around the GTA. He was honoured to speak at last year’s TEDxYouth@Vaughan event.
He sees social change in his future as well. “I’d like to go into education or medicine,” said Brennan. “But hopefully get into Doctors Without Borders.”
