1. MEMORANDUM TO: Secondary School Guidance Counsellors and Career Educators across Ontario
FROM: Jacquie Latham
Executive Director
Ontario School Counsellors’ Association
1 Mountainview Cres
Erin, ON
N0B 1T0
Carine Strong
Chair
Ontario Volunteer Centre Network
c/o Volunteer MBC
7700 Hurontario Street, Unit 601
Brampton, ON
L6Y 4M3
(905)238-2622
www.ovca.ca
DATE: March 26, 2013
SUBJECT: 2013 ChangeTheWorld – Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge
______________________________________________________________________
From April 21 to May 20, the sixth annual ChangeTheWorld - Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge is being
held across the province. This four-week campaign promotes youth volunteerism among Ontario’s high
school students.
ChangeTheWorld is delivered through a partnership between the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
(MCI) and the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN). Since 2008, more than 63,000 young people
have volunteered over 265,000 hours through this program.
ChangeTheWorld challenges high school students aged 14 to 18 to volunteer three hours over four
weeks. Participation in this campaign is open to all secondary school students and contributes to the 40-
community involvement hours required to obtain an Ontario high school diploma.
Last year, more than 28,000 youth volunteered a record 124,000 hours, working with their schools, local
volunteer centres and community agencies. This year, the OVCN along with 23 volunteer centres
representing communities across Ontario are helping to organize volunteer opportunities and connect
students to them.

2. As the guidance and career educators of your schools, you can be the ambassadors to help promote the
ChangeTheWorld campaign by encouraging students to participate. Our youth are increasingly seeking
opportunities to improve their local communities by giving their time, skills and talents as volunteers for
causes they deem important. This campaign helps students find their passion and develop essential skills
for their future careers.
If your school is interested in participating in volunteer events during ChangeTheWorld, visit www.ovcn.ca
for more information. We would be delighted if you could share this information with your school staff,
faculty and student councils and/or groups, to make them aware of the many events taking place in their
communities.
Sincerely,
Jacquie Latham Carine Strong