Covenant House

How Old

The cold winter months and the Christmas season inspire people to donate to causes, but Covenant House Toronto needed to prompt people to think about kids on the street at all times of the year.

To get people to confront their biases around youth who are often overlooked (and thought of as tough, dirty squeegee kids), the organization and Taxi needed to get people to face a truth: "Nothing steals youth like the street."

To tell real stories, Taxi interviewed and photographed actual street kids in the city, capturing their heartbreaking stories.

Using Microsoft's How-Old.net website, it uploaded photos with a shocking result: each kid was reported to be nearly twice their actual age.

The message was clear: abuse, neglect, sexual assault and harassment are the reasons that forced them onto the street. And these individuals, while they look old, are in fact young, scared children.

The How-Old.net results and real stories were shared on social media, with the pictures gaining attention. Along with international media attention, donations to Covenant House increased by 69% and traffic to the site increased by 20%.