Today the world’s largest youth empowerment event of its kind, We Day, will make its official debut in California at Oracle Arena.
Thanks to the support of Co-Title Sponsors Microsoft, The Allstate Foundation and Unilever Project Sunlight, We Day will bring together renowned speakers and chart-topping musical acts including Seth Rogen, Selena Gomez, Magic Johnson, Orlando Bloom, J.Cole and Big Sean along with international activists and co-founders of Free The Children, Craig and Marc Kielburger, to engage and inspire 16,000 youth from over 400 schools across California to take action on local and global causes that are important to them.
An initiative of international charity and educational partner, Free The Children, We Day is taking the philanthropic world by storm with events in the US, Canada and the UK and is one of the world’s largest registered charities on Facebook with 3.8 million followers. This year alone, over 180,000 young people will come together in stadium gatherings to take part in this unprecedented educational initiative.
We Day California will bring some of the greatest social issues of today to the forefront, and provide the young people in attendance and tens of thousands more watching the live stream of the event online at www.ktvu.com, ways in which every young person can find their place within the movement to create global change. TV stars and siblings Rico and Raini Rodriguez along with Free The Children ambassador, Jesse Giddings and will lead the crowd through a day full of powerful educational speeches, inspirational moments and electric performances. A few must-see moments will include:
· Actress and multi-platinum recording artist, Selena Gomez, will speak about the pressure young people face growing up.
· Actor, writer, director and producer, Seth Rogen, alongside his wife actress and screenwriter, Lauren Miller, will encourage the young people in attendance to use their talents to follow their passions and create positive change on issues they care about – with a comedic-twist.
· Renowned a cappella group from Oakland School for the Arts, Vocal Rush, will perform two songs to sing along to: I Was Hereby Beyoncé and Perfect by Pink.
· Known as the ’World’s Cutest Dog’ with 11 million fans on Facebook, Boo will be interviewed on stage by Disney channel’s Raini Rodriguez.
Spearheading its arrival in California are long-time Free The Children supporters and We Day California Co-Chairs, Natalie Portman and Magic Johnson along with philanthropic thought leaders Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman of the Skoll Foundation, Participant Media and the Skoll Global Threats Fund and Daniel Lurie, CEO and Founder, Tipping Point Community.
“I have been working alongside the tens of thousands of youth involved with We Day for several years now, and we’ve developed a good group dynamic for social change,” said Magic Johnson, co-chair of We Day Seattle. “This dream team of young trail blazers and student leaders with a like-minded attitude to make the world a better place are inspiring everyone around them to be a part of this movement. When we return next year for We Day California we’ll get to celebrate all the wonderful actions that have been taken and I’m so excited to be a part of this team.”
The lineup of acts who will take the We Day California stage include: Seth Rogen, Selena Gomez, Magic Johnson, J. Cole, Big Sean, Martin Sheen, Orlando Bloom, Rico and Raini Rodriguez, Evanna Lynch, Laila Ali, Clemantine Wamariya, Martin Luther King III, Lauren Miller, Jesse Giddings, Hannah Simone, Boo, The Tenors featuring Young Stitch, Spencer West, Hannah Alper, and Craig and Marc Kielburger.
We Day California will also see local young leaders and performers take the stage including Vocal Rush, a renowned a cappella group from Oakland School for the Arts, the Oakland Youth Orchestra, dance group, Culture Shock and spoken word group, Youth Speaks. NFL sports teams also lending their voice include the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers.
We Day is free of charge to the thousands of students and educators in attendance, thanks to the extraordinary support of sponsors, led in California by Co-Title Sponsors Microsoft and The Allstate Foundation and Unilever Project Sunlight.
Students can’t buy a ticket to We Day; they earn it through service by making a commitment to take action on at least one local and one global initiative of their choice as part of the year-long educational program, We Act. The We Act program supports students and teachers with free educational resources, student-led campaigns and support materials to help turn the inspiration of We Day into sustained activation. The program enhances a school’s existing service learning initiatives or sparks new ones.
