Madi MacIntyre - Take a Leap

Madi MacIntyre took the stage at Ignite Charity and acted like a stereotypical teenager. IT'S ALL ABOUT ME! ME, ME, ME!!!!!!!

It was near the end of January 2012 and she was contemplating the special thing that was about to happen... Leap Day. The thing that happens every 4 years and we get an extra day on our calendar.

But how to celebrate? She wanted to make it special, something unique. And then something hit her.

AN EXTRA DAY ISN'T SPECIAL FOR EVERYONE.

For some, an extra day means an extra day hungry. It means that some have to put off paying their rent in order to fund an extra bus trip. It's an extra day of depression. An extra night sleeping in the cold.

In 3 days, 29 Leaps was born. YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, website.

29Leaps is about celebrating life and happiness for everyone. Let's show people that an extra day is something for EVERYONE to celebrate. Through the good and the bad, it always helps to know that someone cares about you. That's why we want to take the opportunity to use the number 29 as a benchmark for spreading the good. - 29 Leaps

Madi had a goal. She wanted 29 people to participate in 29 Leaps with her. As of this writing: 

That's a lot more than 29 participants.

Whether you prefer a simple or creative approach… donate 29 cents or dollars to a cause, spend 29 minutes with someone, send 29 care packages, donate 2.9% or 29% of your profits for the month or on the 29th… even if you want to do 29Leaps 29 times for all 29 days, we simply ask you to get involved and spread the message. Each time you do your 29Leaps, come back to the website and click the button on the right to add your 29 to the grande total! - 29 Leaps

Following 29 Leaps on Twitter I saw people donating 29 lbs of potatoes to the food bank, $2.90 daily to charity, playing music in public square for 29 minutes... and a lot of people went above and beyond the number 29.

29 things that one person can do to make a really big difference. - Madi MacIntyre

290,000 good things happened because of one 17 year old girl who wanted to make a difference. Madi is truly an inspiration to all of us, but especially for young adults who think that they can't create change. Madi proved it... you can.

*This is part 10 in a series of 15 blogs detailing the amazing projects presented in the world's first ever Ignite Charity: Waterloo. For more info on Ignite Charity visit www.ignitecharity.ca and follow the conversation on twitter @IgniteCharity.