Canadians see themselves among the world's most caring, respectful, compassionate souls. And they may be right. But in terms of per capita volunteerism and charity giving, Canada is in the middle of the pack of Western nations, alongside nations like Britain, Australia and Ireland, according to senior Statistics Canada researcher Paul Reed, but well behind the United States. What's more, in some areas the U.S. numbers are rising while Canadian numbers are slipping. In terms of volunteering, for instance, the U.S. participation rate is 50% compared to 27% in Canada. "The long-term trends are pointing downward in Canada, including the amount of time and frequency devoted to good works, and the amounts being given in charitable donations," says Reed, who has been studying the topic for four years. Even more important, according to StatsCan's 2001 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, is that the tradition of voluntary good works is generationally defined: the bulk of it is being carried out by a shrinking core group of dedicated individuals principally composed of older, upper-income, religiously active, rurally based Canadians-a segment of the population that demographers warn is quietly fading away.

That's why the men and women in the following pages are such an important breed. They represent a new generation of young people stepping into the breach to find ways to help the needy, save the planet, and get the rest of us out of our lawn chairs. These people are not hold-a-bake-sale-and-go-home types. The new do-gooders are doing old things in new ways, like Kitchener, Ont., native Rahul Raj's revolutionary Meal Exchange, which makes it easy for university students to donate dorm meals to the needy. Or they're doing new things in smart new ways, like the Engineers Without Borders initiative, which helps young engineers to creatively apply high- and low-tech solutions to developing-world problems.

At the heart of the new generation's approach is a collaborative style that is getting smart young minds together. This is a central tenet of Michael Furdyk and Jennifer Corriero's TakingITGlobal website (http://www.takingitglobal.org/), which helps young people around the world network and find out about worthy projects. The same goes for Canadian-born Ocean Robbins' YES! organization, which connects youths in inspirational and motivational camps and workshops. And it's intrinsic to Torontonian Cam Haynes' Film Circuit, which brings worthy non-U.S. films to smaller communities. "You don't just build a school in Chiapas," says Craig Kielburger, 18, founder of Free the Children, a group that fights for children's rights around the world. "You connect that community with a community in Canada. It becomes a cross-cultural exchange."

It's not purely Canadian, but it's becoming known around the world as the Canadian way, says David Armour, who heads the United Way in Canada. "In our business," Armour says, "the key that sets leaders apart is their ability to provide collaborative leadership." And that's where Canada really lends many helping hands at once.
-With reporting by Leigh Anne Williams

ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS:
George Roter and Parker Mitchell
Parker Mitchell, 25, had never given social issues much thought until he accepted a challenge from his University of Waterloo engineering-faculty supervisor to build a water-purification system for developing countries. In 1999 Mitchell's solar-panel-powered water purifier won the Social Awareness Award at the National Canadian Engineering Competition. "That summer I rode my bike through villages in Ecuador," he says. "Seeing how people lived without water and electricity-I knew I could provide a solution." Today, an advanced prototype of his purifier is being tested as a tool to bring potable water to 2,000 villagers in Bolivia.

Mitchell found a classmate with a similar passion in George Roter, also 25. In January of last year the duo, now in grad school, pooled $13,000 of their own money, drafted a charter and founded the first chapter of Engineers Without Borders at the University of Waterloo. In the 19 months since then, EWB chapters have bloomed at 15 universities across Canada and two in the U.S., with more than 1,500 student and professional volunteers looking at ways to bring technology to the world's poor. "There is a lot of basic research being done in universities across the developed world," says Roter, "but little is taken out of the classroom and applied to help those less fortunate meet basic human needs."

EWB's chapters mix graduate engineers and undergraduates, who may serve internships in developing countries to learn about community needs. At the University of Western Ontario, a graduate engineering student is leading a team of three undergraduates in creating an affordable above-the-knee prosthetic for land-mine victims in Vietnam. In Tanzania, EWB interns are working with an African nonprofit agency on reinforcing a shallow-well system that is in danger of collapse. This winter, two EWB interns will join CareCanada, a humanitarian-aid organization, in building schoolhouses in a refugee camp in Zambia. "In the past we've had a hard time finding engineer volunteers," says Gillian Davis, a CareCanada vice president. "EWB has filled a real need for us."

EWB is run solely by volunteers, with a $100,000 operating budget funded entirely by donations from professional engineers, corporate sponsorships and governmental groups. While partnerships with larger organizations are important, the inventive spark that first fueled Mitchell's enthusiasm is still vital. Last summer, for example, three students from Waterloo and McGill University installed more than 400 pedal-powered lighting units in the homes and schoolrooms of seven poverty-stricken villages. The lights were designed by Dave Irvine-Halliday, an engineering professor at the University of Calgary as part of Light Up the World, EWB's initiative. Each unit costs an estimated $40 and uses a rechargeable battery that delivers four to six hours of light for every 20 minutes of pedaling. Except for the bulb, all materials-from the pedal to the battery-can be made or found locally. "We don't just set them up and leave," explains Mitchell. "We teach entrepreneurs in the villages how to make them, so eventually we've worked ourselves out of the equation." That's calculus with a difference.
-By Carole Buia

TAKING IT GLOBAL:
Michael Furdyk and Jennifer Corriero
He sold his first company, MyDesktop.com, in 1999 for a slick $1 million, and now he helps run another start-up, the comparison-shopping site buybuddy.com. In 1998 she designed CoolGirls.org, a site that profiles women in history. Together, Michael Furdyk and Jennifer Corriero launched TakingITGlobal in August 2000 as a high-tech way to inspire and connect teens all over the world. He's 19. She's 21. "We're proving that when young people unite, they can effect change in their communities," says Furdyk.

In more than 100 countries, thousands of teens are logging on to TakingITGlobal's (TIG) website to learn about scholarship funds and volunteer opportunities. TIG has established co-branding relationships with more than 1,000 youth organizations, from human-rights groups to performing-arts advocates. In addition to being a resource guide, TIG is also a dynamic environment where teens can take part in virtual discussions, mentoring programs and workshops. From Peru to Ghana, members submit articles on topics ranging from poverty to education; they also display their artwork in a global gallery. "What we've created is a place where people with similar interests and goals can connect," says Corriero. "Mike and I asked ourselves, if we had the resources to do whatever we wanted, what would we do? The answer was this concept of a futuristic workplace and community."

Through TIG's IdeaFund, teens submit proposals for small-scale projects to improve a community. Proposals are voted on by a committee made up of teen members and the site's sponsors. Funds are raised through donations or commissions generated from shopping at online partners like Chapters.ca and kbtoys.com. For example, TIG has raised $1,000 for an initiative that will teach 240 teens livestock- and poultry-farming skills in 12 rural villages in Bangladesh.