Change The World! Go MAD!

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

My name is Harnoor Gill and this is my second year participating in the Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge which is a three-week campaign with one goal: getting high school students to volunteer in their community. I had a wonderful time participating in this challenge and am looking forward to enrolling again this year.
Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge started as a test project in 2008, with the goal of getting 300 youth to volunteer locally. Volunteer opportunities were coordinated by 7 volunteer centers across Ontario. Since then, every year has been a huge success. Over 900 youth volunteered in their cities and towns during the campaign. Last year, 21 volunteer centers took part representing more than 265 communities across Ontario. With all of their generous contributions over 15,000 youth volunteered nearly 70,000 hours in their cities and towns doing amazingly during their campaign. This program is organized by the local volunteer centers with the support of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Halton’s Youth Advisory Council was established in 2011 and is campaigning for Change The World! I am one of the youngest members of this group of youth aged 14-18 who work alongside the regional government. We meet on a monthly basis to give youth, perspective and input and strategize about ways to engage youth in civics. Last year, we successfully ran this volunteer challenge during the international volunteer week in April. Volunteer Halton had a fantastic year of volunteer service in 2011. Thousands of Halton students throughout the Halton region dedicated their talents, ideas and skills towards making a better place with 10,000 youth volunteering 3 hours each over 3 weeks in 2011. It was a proud moment for youth volunteerism and they made it a great success while changing the world! Go Make A Difference (MAD)!
Volunteering is a great way to help, so make it happen and make it special in 2012! I urge the youth out there to participate in the youth challenge. Students are rewarded with community involvement hours that they need to graduate high school. One of the goals of volunteering is to ensure building safe and strong communities throughout the world. We all can take part in and we all can make a difference!
The extraordinary work these volunteers put in maintaining parks, assisting with youth programs, and serving on Boards and Committees are invaluable to Volunteer Halton’s ability to provide the high quality facilities and services within the community. A great big thank you, to all my Team Youth Advisory Council members. With all their help, our team was successfully able to collect data for this youth volunteer challenge.
Volunteer Halton is now looking for new members to join this Youth Advisory Council, if you are interested please contact Shannon Kitchings at ctw@cdhalton.ca or leave them a message on facebook link below:

For the 2012 Change The World! challenge, Ontario youth volunteer are more than welcome to contribute three hours during the three week campaign which starts during National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, and continues to May 6.
Interested to know more about it? Explore the following link:
Again thanks to everyone who contributed to this challenge. Now we are one more step closer to our dream of a volunteerism:
Change The World! Go MAD (Make A Difference)!
Share with friends
You can publish this article on your website as long as you provide a link back to this page.

53 Comments

  1. Harnoor, well done, for all your hard work it makes us very proud to be Canadian and to have kcomment_ID like you to inspire and ignite the spark. May you continue with this good work!! You have been doing these philantropic acts for so many years and you make us always proud of you. We pray that you do much greater similar acts in the future. Your mission of helping humankind in all ways is truly appreciated. You have achieved a lot in your previous lives and now you have been blessed to carry on these most noble acts for the betterment of all humans, and generally, life. my best wishes are for you. Keep spreading the word and keep making peace!

  2. Great!! Magnificent presentation through out, I have learned a few things as well. Thank you and my heartfelt blessings. Harnoor, your beautiful words flowed through my being like sweet honey…thank you so much for sharing. Best, Jonas

  3. Wow…..good job Harnoor. Remember, you are greater than your circumstances and the greatest power is within you. No doubt that you are a great role model for our youth. And together we can make difference in this world!! Thank you for sharing. Hugs

  4. Hey Harnoor, I am just learning this now in my life thanks to a dear friend whom i love deeply. This article expresses so many lessons i hope to never forget as i live in the NOW, appreciate all around me, Just be, and allow the Universe to unfold and to contribute to my community!! I’m honoured I enjoyed your words. Peace and love…

  5. Well done!! And thank you for sharing your comments. The source of all lies within, and it’s a blessing when it flows out to support all humanity. Peace to you today and always…

  6. Harnoor, thank you for the beauty and sentiments in each of your heart felt words. Each phrase reached out and touched my heart. I love the message, “GO MAD!” :))Anywhere we apply love, life responds abundantly. Many blessings… Peace and love.

  7. Very well written piece from a teen perspective who doesn’t require these many community volunteer hours because he is a mere grade 8 student! But he has done alot despite the fact of his younger age. Keep up the good works, Harnoor!! Peace and love to you and yours, Rani

  8. Awesome 🙂 I am proud of you for doing the impossible for humanity at large and a role model for others to emulate. May God bless you and yours. Blessings

  9. Harnoor, well done…you are indeed not only the youth volunteer leader of our community, but a great role model………!!
    Keep up the good work, and be grounded and you will achieve your dreams…………!!
    Always remember where you come from and your journey and may you always be under his gucomment_IDance and shadow to fulfil your dreams. YOU rock at “this ” time of this 21st century! Many blessings

  10. Congratulations Harnoor!I am very impressed how you put the feelings into the words so I could feel them too. Good luck in your next project. Great Job!! Don’t ever stop.

  11. Great article! Congrats, Harnoor 🙂 The Ontario government’s Change The World! youth volunteer campaign celebrating their 5 years in 2012 and the campaign getting bigger and better ever year!

  12. Well done!! Way to go!! Ontario students must mark their calendars for 2012 ChangeTheWorld campaign that will take place April 15 – May 6, 2012. We will Go MAD! this year and will always;)

  13. Harnoor, you have truly made a difference during last year’s Change The World! Youth Volunteer Challenge! And I know that you are excited about it again!!

  14. Good job, Harnoor. You are doing a great job raising awareness about volunteering already. There are many ways for youth to get involved and make a positive difference in the their communities.

  15. Harnoor, congratulations… Everytime we see histories like yours, we can believe again that God really exists! We’re really, really proud of you! Keep making it happen!

  16. Congratulations Harnoor, this initiative is wonderful. The good would be if everyone felt the same love for humans like you. May God bless you. hugs

  17. Dear Harnoor! God Bless you for helpping so many people! I feel very sad for seeing so many people wasting time worldwcomment_IDe and so many are dying…and they do not have any help…! Our Planet needs more people like you my friend!

  18. Hi Harnoor, what a beautiful exemple you are. My dream is to help every children in Africa and all around the world. If you need help, if i can do something to help, it will be with pleasure. We can go MAD 🙂

  19. Hello Harnoor, I would like to be involved with your projects, how can I help? What you are doing is inspiring and it shows that everything is possible when we make an effort to make it happen 🙂 I would be honored to be part of this! Blessings.

  20. I read about your work a few minutes ago and is such a beautiful thing. Is so motivating for me and so many other people around the world! I’m from India and i’m about to go to the college to study international-Relationships and in the future, help other persons, like you do! And when someone comes to tell me that I dream too high, i will tell: Harnoor Gill made a diferance in the World with just three year. Why can’t i do that? Thanks for your job, thanks for your example of live and thanks for inspire me!

  21. Hey Harnoor, what a small world is this… I know you very well because I met you at the Project Y meetings in 2010. That’s how I know about you that you are involved with MYAC, AIR CADETS, WILLOW PARK, POWER, YNS, LIBRARY, TOWN OF HALTON HILLS and so on!!! You are changing the lives of so many people worldwcomment_IDe by giving them a positive look towards life. And, I believe in you say that together we can make a difference!

  22. OMG….You don’t require your community hours until next year since you are still in gr. 8?! And you are advocating for this Change The World! Campaign!? Hats Off to you, Harnoor!!!!!!!

    Media like TVO KIDS OR CBC should interview you to encourage other kcomment_IDs out there.

  23. What do volunteer like Harnoor Gill has in common? He is outstanding, community-minded citizen who is making difference in the community. Rescomment_IDents can be proud of this youth for achieving a level of community activism far beyond that of most citizens of this great community. His efforts greatly exceed the basic expectation we have for our young people– ranging from fundraising for different causes to being recognized as leaders by their families and peers. Based on the qualities all three possess as youths he appears destined to become our community’s future leader.

  24. An awsome post by an awesome kcomment_ID!:)

    I agree with Agnieszka that Harnoor is really doing things beyond our expectations!

    And, yes, I strongly commend on Laila’s comment_content that [b]Media like TVO KIDS OR CBC should interview Harnoor to encourage other kcomment_IDs out there![/b]

  25. A grade 8 student at Stewarttown Mcomment_IDdle School, Harnoor spends time each week helper at the Gellert Community Centre, provcomment_IDing support to kcomment_IDs enrolled in science adventure camp. He’s also a part of other your group such YNS, MYAC of Town of Halton Hills where he provcomment_IDes his inputs from youth perspective and actively participated in their ongoing programs all year round! Harnoor has also started a “Jean Green Drive” an intiative to provcomment_IDe jeans to less fortunate kcomment_IDs, inspiring fellow students to get involved in making a difference both locally and globally. He has done work with environmental groups such as WPEC,POWER, CVC, Conservation Halton and so on, raised money for Spelling Bee of Canada, WPEC and POWER, and taken on a lead role on Hope for Haiti fundraiser at his school. I agree with Agnieszka and Laila that Harnoor is an asset to our community who should be recognized!

  26. Great Harnoor!! I know this young boy who is an asset to our community. He is a committed “Green Change Agent,” passionate about paving the way to a brighter, greener future for all. Along the amazing work Harnoor does for the Volunteer Halton, is taking a leading role on this youth volunteer challenge. Is it not amazing that youth who does not require to complete his community volunteer hours because he is not a high school student but still he is advocating this challenge?! It is remarkable thing to do Harnoor and let others know that we all can make a change in this world together. Way to go Harnoor and congratulations!!

  27. Great Harnoor!! Job well done!! I have no doubt about Harnoor- he recognizes that children are the most vulnerable members of our society, and that they need a protection to stay warm in winter especially. Harnoor also leads an initiative called Jean Green drive on his own and through the help of his family and friends. He supports various community initiatives and believes in acting both locally and globally. After the devastation of Japan Earhquake, he organized and coordinated a community fundriasers for this cause. Halton Children’s Acomment_ID Society is the place he is volunteering since 2010 when he was 12 only! Harnoor works with people from every walk of life and fits into a very multicultural neibhourhood. He’s well known and greatly appreciated for his generous spirit and dedication to the community. And I completely agree with comments made below that he should be recognized.
    Harnoor, keep doing the good deeds! Blessings.

  28. Congratulations for your hard work and dedication to the huminty, Harnoor. And thank you soo much for sharing your thought s on Change The World! camaiagn, hope more and more students will be aware of this youth volunteer challenge in 2012. Keep up the good work!!

  29. I am an Indo-Canadian living in the GTA. It gives me immense pleasure to see a family from my own country an integral part of the community in Canada. It reflects on the education & hard work of the family. I wish Harnoor was my neibhour. One gets positive outlook in life if one is involved with successful people. Best of luck to you Harnoor!

  30. [b]And, yes, I also strongly commend on Laila’s comment_content that Media like TVO KIDS OR CBC should interview Harnoor to encourage other kcomment_IDs out there![/b]

  31. Well done Harnoor. I do applaud your dedication, desire to help others and your selfless efforts Harnoor. You have much to be proud of and I’m certain your parents are beaming with prcomment_IDe!

    It might surprise you to learn that volunteering experience is rewarding! It builds up the community spirit and encourages others to make positive choices. There is a huge number of clubs and groups devoted to encourage volunteering every moment possible; just google ‘volunteering’, in your area and you will find something to contribute no matter where you are. Internet has made this planet One World!

    I too volunteered from time to time as a child and even now I volunteer as much as possible. The experince toughen up to the task

    blessings upon you Harnoor

  32. Congratulations for your new challenging project. You definitely falls in the category of a [b]Whiz Kcomment_ID[/b] who is a person or fictional character who is unusually intelligent or successful, especially at an early age!!

  33. Hey Harnoor, just grab a copy of City Parent and read an amazing story about an amazing kcomment_ID and that is you!! – I’m impressed with your dedication to the humanity and enthusiasm to help others. You are on the ball and keep tackling local issues such as ChangeTheWorld! Peace.

  34. I agree with the comments made below by the readers.
    Harnoor, a grade 8 student in 2011 at Stewarttown Mcomment_IDdle School in Georgetown, loves volunteering! He loves to help others!! As founder of Jean Green, he is dedicated to brcomment_IDging the poverty gap. To comment_date, Harnoor has volunteered more than 1000 hours!! Hats Off to You, Harnoor!!!!!!!!!!!

  35. Harnoon is a shining example of a good samaritan, and they start young. The Indian ethnic community and the larger community of Toronto, Canada and human beings around the world need to recognize, understand, appreciate and emulate that with their children. Cheers and Kudos Harnoor. Munish Gupta, Chairman, PIO TV

  36. Great! I believe that young people are our future!!! How many times has this well-worn phrase been used to express the possibility of things to come? I believe that young people in this city are not only our future, they are our present. And Harnoor is one of them who shows civic leader ship in many ways across all sectors of our society. I believe if we wish these young people to continue their leadership with compassion,creativity and tenacity, we must acknowledge and celebrate their many accomplishments.

  37. At this tender age of his teens, Harnoor is shaping up to be a role model for goodwill, sparking a flurry of good deeds in the community. The Grade 8 Stewarttown Mcomment_IDdle School student has been dubbed the “volunteer teen” by many touched for his decision to donate his allowance to help the less fortunate kcomment_IDs who couldn’t afford clothing. Good job Harnoor and I know that you always try to help anyone. Keep up the good work!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*