WE Day, a stadium-sized event that brings together world-renowned speakers and performers with tens of thousands of youth to celebrate the power young people have to change the world, is pleased to announce that WE Day California will be hosted at the Forum in Inglewood on April 7, 2016.
In partnership with Co-Title Sponsors, Microsoft, Allstate and Unilever, WE Day California will bring together 16,000 students and teachers in an inspirational setting to celebrate the commitment they have made to take action on local and global issues important to them.
On Thursday, WE Day supporter, four time GRAMMY nominee, author, producer, philanthropist and internationally renowned film star, Tyrese Gibson, surprised students at his former school, Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy, to announce WE Day California’s move to Southern California. Along with WE Day Co-Founder Craig Kielburger, and representatives from Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy, Tyrese encouraged more students from across the state to join the WE Day movement.
Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy is a public charter high school located in Los Angeles, California, and part of Green Dot Public Schools, serving students from the South Los Angeles and Watts communities. With the mission to build an environment of inclusivity and sense of community within the school, WE Day joins to help empower the Alain LeRoy Locke student body to continue fostering a positive school environment.
“It makes me proud to be a part of the WE Day movement, to inspire and be inspired by the youth leading the change we need to see,” said Tyrese Gibson. “I attended and spoke at WE Day in Illinois last spring and was blown away by the energy and passion in the room. Every single person at WE Day has done something to make an impact in their own life and in the lives around them. These young people are standing up and saying ‘I will be the change for a better tomorrow’ and I can’t wait for the students from my hometown and my former high school to experience the energy of WE Day.”
WE Day is the movement of our time – a movement of young people leading local and global change. WE Day celebrates and inspires this generation’s shift from me to we – towards acting with intention, leading with compassion, and a belief in the power of community. This year alone over 200,000 young people will come together in 14 stadium gatherings across the U.S., Canada and U.K. to take part in this unprecedented initiative through the yearlong educational program, WE Schools.
You can’t buy a ticket to WE Day – students from across the state will earn their way by taking action on one local and one global cause of their choice through the WE Schools program. The program provides hands-on, student-led campaigns designed to enhance a school’s existing social initiatives or to spark new ones. WE Schools help young people turn the day’s inspiration into sustained action. Already, students’ participation in WE Schools has resulted in over $62 million raised for more than 2,500 local and global organizations and 19.9 million hours volunteered.
“We believe that every young person has the power to create and lead real change in the world,” said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE Day. “Youth across California and the rest of America are making their voices heard, and thanks to the incredible support of Microsoft, Allstate and Unilever, we are thrilled to bring together over 16,000 young change-makers at WE Day California. We believe that if given the right tools, today’s youth can conquer anything they put their minds to.”
In California, WE Day and the WE Schools program is free of charge to the thousands of students and teachers in attendance at the event and statewide. There are currently over 850 schools in California signed up for the program.
“In Los Angeles, ‘we’ is not just a word — it is a guiding principle, with people pulling together every day to make life better for their families, friends and neighbors,” said Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti. "I am thrilled that Free The Children is bringing WE Day to Los Angeles, where its message of empowerment for young people, and unity of purpose, will resonate in communities all over our great city."
“WE Day and WE Schools are initiatives that inspire today’s youth to do great things and get involved in their communities,” said Stephanie Argyros,Co-Chair of WE Day California. “Today, these students are presented with a special opportunity to not only learn about ways to give back, but how to take the first steps on becoming active global citizens.”
Students and teachers can learn more about WE Day and WE Schools and how they can get involved and earn a ticket to the world’s largest youth empowerment event by visiting www.weday.com/california.
