A couple of months ago I got an e-mail from a couple of my favourite local activists, Abby and Fiona Emdin. I always love hearing from these two but this time it was EXTRA special.

Remember back when I was participating in the War Child Challenge and I did a photo profile on the student group World Without Worms? Well that would be Abby and Fiona and these days they aren’t just keeping up with their awesome work but they’ve also got something really exciting going on.

To recap: Abby and Fiona are a couple of local high school students that, with the help of their friend Laura, have started an initiative geared at raising money to buy de-worming medication for children living in developing countries. Inspired after witnessing extreme poverty while on a humanitarian trip, the girls came home determined to make a difference. After doing some research, they discovered the health issue (and solution) that would quickly become their cause.

To quote my original profile from the Challenege:

Over two billion people world-wide are infected with parasitic worms and many of them are school-aged children. The good news is that the cost of providing deworming medicine is as low as 50¢ per child, making it a solution that is both cost efficient and effective. It was with this knowledge that Abby and Fiona, with the help of their friend, Laura Hallsworth, launched “World Without Worms”.

I’ve been absolutely blown away by these girls from the moment I got in touch with them. Incredibly passionate and well-informed, I continue to be in awe of their commitment and hard work toward this project. It’s always inspiring to see young people standing up for something they believe in and these girls haven’t stopped inspiring me.

Now, World Without Worms is up to something BIG.

Starting tomorrow the girls will be asking for our votes to help them win the title of Canada’s Next Top Young Philanthropists. Aside from being an awesome honor, winning would mean an additional $10,000 to their cause.

Let me repeat that: $10,000.

Guys, these girls have earned this one. Let’s help them out!

Visit their profile every day starting June 11th and vote for World Without Worms. When you’re done tell your friends and get them on board!

Want to learn more about the amazing work these ladies have been up to? Check out their snazzy new website and get informed!

[Ed note: Yeah, this post originally stated that May 7th was the start date for voting. No word on why the date got pushed back but June 11th is the real deal! Spread the word!]