Helping children around the world is the charitable focus of Merrill Lynch world-wide. In Canada the company has taken on an active role in helping kids be kids through education, health and play. To this end, the company has identified two key charities to support.

Roots of Empathy - an in school based program that is dedicated to building caring, peaceful and civil societies through the development of empathy in children age 3 - 14. Through this class room based program which uses parents and their babies age 2 – 4 months, school children learn how others feel, and as a result are less likely to victimize each other through bullying. The baby becomes the focal point of the learning as children ask questions of the parent, and a Roots of Empathy Instructor asks the children about their thoughts and feelings for the baby.

The program exposes children to a culture of caring, where they learn about caring for themselves, others and the world they live in. Roots of Empathy also teaches respect for diversity, expression of feelings, perspective, problem solving, inclusion and helps children learn about parenthood, baby development, attachment and temperament, fathering, infant development and infant safety.

Right to Play - is a humanitarian organization using specially-designed sport and play programs to encourage healthy physical, social and emotional development of the world’s most disadvantaged children. Due to poverty, war and disease over 700 million children do not know what it means to play. With the theme, “look after yourself, look after one another” the organization sets out to be the catalyst for improving child development and improving communities in the world’s most difficult areas.

Right to Play is supported by a network of international athletes who take the best values of sport to teach important life skills such as respect, teamwork, discipline, communication and fair play. Further, the organization leverages the convening power of sport to promote health and peace. In parts of Africa, Right to Play has been instrumental in encouraging healthy behavior and in communicating messages about HIV/AIDS, vaccinations, tuberculosis and malaria. Further, Right to Play helps train coaches to become community leaders, actively includes girls and their particular needs, and teaches conflict resolution skills – which has been credited with reducing aggression, ethnic violence and improving refugee-host country relationships.