Welcome to Kids Up Front Foundation

Across Canada, Kids Up Front creates fun and new experiences for kids, by forwarding your unused tickets. If you Can't Use Your Tickets, donate them to us and we'll make sure they reach the thousands of kids who could really benefit from them. Together, we're helping to heal, bond and unite.

Over 500,000 once-in-a-lifetime experiences distributed
to kids across Canada!

Toronto: On November 23, 2009, Kids Up Front Canada was awarded the $10,000 Grand Prize for Today’s Parent Reader With a Cause Award!

For Kids Sake
Reader with a Cause: John Dalziel
Founder, Kids Up Front Foundation

“When a child sees his hero right in front of him, it’s a life-changing experience.”

John Dalziel was at a hockey game at Calgary’s Saddledome when he noticed a lot of empty seats around him. That’s when the idea struck: If Dalziel, then a sales manager in the broadcast business, could convince corporations to donate their unused entertainment tickets, he could get kids who couldn’t afford them into the best seats in the house. Finding donors and distribution agencies for the tickets was surprisingly easy. Now underprivileged kids could enjoy what more fortunate children take for granted: hearing a symphony, watching the ballet or cheering at a sports event. A decade later, Kids Up Front Foundation has lifted the spirits of more than 500,000 children at a value in access of $13 million. Now operating in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto, the organization partners with nealy 500 charities so kids who need a break from their challenges get to see their heros up close. Like Justin, an 11-year-old child prodigy violinist, who sustained brain damage following an accident: when Itzhak Perlman came to town, Kids Up Front made sure Justin was front and centre to hear his idol live in concert. It was an experience of a lifetime, says Dalziel, who read every one of the thank you notes that fill his mailbox. “Its clear from the gratitude of these kids that a ticket is more than just a ticket,” he says. “It is a true nourishment of the spirit.”

Why he won: “Kids Up Front is a simple idea that has a big impact,” says Today’s Parent editor-in-chief Caroline Connell. “We’re happy to support it.”

What the money means: “This award will help fund our Can’t Use Your Ticket? redistribution program, as well as Kids Count!” says Cindy Graves, executive director of Kids Up Front Vancouver. “In that program, we add special-treatment extras like meals, transportation and autograph sessions with celebrities, so kids living in poverty feel like true VIPs.” – Randi Chapnik Myers

Today’s Parent
October 2009

To contact the region closest to you, click on the kids above.

THANK YOU!
(updated February 22, 2010)