A 21-year old Fanshawe College student that never sang or played guitar before a few winters ago, Jessica Allossery taught herself how to sing and play guitar by watching YouTube videos in her spare time to write her song “Change the World”. Feeling down and in need of a pick-me-up on a cold dreary winter day, her feelings just poured out into her song, which was almost an instant hit, touching many with its honesty and getting noticed by film director Lucas Jatoba and Telus!
In need of an idea of how to say goodbye to home in Barcelona, Lucas Jatoba loved Jessica’s song and incorporated it into his video, Adeu Barcelona! , bringing lots of attention to “Change the World”, with almost 600,000 views on YouTube. Soon after, Telus employees were captivated by the song and Jessica’s talent and dreams during a company presentation. Her voice echoed their own mission of giving back to the community and “Change the World” was included in a TV commercial for their We Give Where We Live campaign, focused on donating to charities and local communities.
Thinking that the e-mail was a joke at first, Jessica was thrilled when Telus flew her out to Vancouver to record the song for their national commercial while shooting a behind-the-scenes video of the story. Her song is actually changing the world and helping a charity started by her neighbours, Mike and Brenda Neuts, in response to their 10-year old son Myles dying after he was hung on a hook by two bullies at St. Agnes Catholic school in Jessica’s hometown, Chatham, Ontario.
The song and ringtone can be downloaded by Telus customers for FREE. Until June 30, 2011, Telus will donate $5 for every download to the Make Children Better Now Children’s Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the betterment of children in communities across Canada, started by the Neuts family.