We Day Illinois
By: Antoinette Logan (@MzReadyRedd)
April 30th, 2015 has been named We Day Illinois. Why this IS
a BIG DEAL?
Let me start
off by saying that there are many children in our own neighborhoods, homes, and
across the globe doing positive things in their communities and others, with
hopes to help someone in need and make the world a better place. These children
deserve a platform to share their stories and most importantly a chance to
motivate others and be inspired to be great.
WE DAY in
collaboration with ABC, filmed the 1st ever U.S. national broadcast
of We Day airing commercial-free on
August 21st, 2o15 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT, held right here in our own
backyard, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL.
We Day is the
movement of our time, of young people leading vocal and global change, taking
the philanthropic world by storm w/ events in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. We Day is connected to the year-long We
Act program, which provides educational resources and campaigns to help young
people turn the day’s inspiration into sustained action.
We Day and We Act are cause inclusive, empowering
young people to find their passion and create the change they want to see. Over
200,000 young people have earned their seat at We Day. This is not your average, buy a ticket and enjoy the show
type of event. Young people earn their tickets by committing to take action on
one local and one global case of their choice.
We Day provides a
platform for youth to learn about some of today’s pressing social issues,
helping to inspire them to become leaders and global citizens and to take
action on causes most important to them. Together, We Day and We Act is a prototype
for building the next generation of global citizens, by building compassionate communities
and transforming student behavior by engaging and empowering youth to lead
through service.
The Facts:
We Day is one of
the world’s largest charitable causes on Facebook and Twitter.
Since 2007, youth involved in We Act have achieved
remarkable social change:
- $45 million raised for more than 1,000 local and global causes
- 14.6 million hours volunteered for local and global cause
- 5.6 billion lbs. of food collected for local food banks
- 8.9 million hours of silence logged for those who are denied their rights
U.S. based social impact consulting firm Mission Measurement
has proven that We Day and the
accompanying year-long We Act program generate powerful behavioral impacts.
- 98 per cent of participating youth believe they can make a difference following their We Day attendance
- 80 per cent of We Act alumni report volunteering more than 150 hours each year
We Day Illinois and the year-round
educational program We Act are free
to thousands of students across the state because of the support from their National
Title Sponsor Allstate and others. We
Day Illinois is co-chaired by Chicago’s own, award-winning hip-hop
artist, actor, founder of the Common Ground Foundation, Common and Allstate
Chief Executive Officer, Tom Wilson. We
Day is lead by national co-chair Academy and Grammy award-winning actress
and musician, and co-founder of the Julian D. King Gift Foundation, a Windy
City favorite, Jennifer Hudson.
We Day Illinois brought together 15,000
students and teachers from approximately 500 schools across the state to
celebrate their commitment to taking action on issues they care about. Schools
from across the country travelled far distances to attend We Day Illinois. In
the 2014/2015 school year, students and educators from Illinois schools are
taking part in a range of local and global activities, from We Act, We Scare Hunger, We Create Change
and We Won’t Rest, raising awareness for hunger, poverty, education, and
literacy.
Me to We
> Free the Children> We Day: How does it all connect?
Craig Kielburger, a social entrepreneur, New York Times
best-selling author, and speaker along with his brother, Mark Kielburger, a
humanitarian, and social entrepreneur are both co-founders of the world’s
leading platform for social change: Free the Children, an international
charity, Me to We, an innovative for social enterprise, and We Day, a signature
youth empowerment event.
Founded in 1995, Free The Children, which began as a dozen
group of kids, has grown into an international charity global network of more
than two million young people committed to leading social change. Through its holistic and sustainable
development model, Free The Children has built more than 650 schools and school
rooms in developing regions providing education to more than 55,000 children
everyday with the help of the Oprah’s Angel Network partnership, funding 68
schools.
Driven by the Me to We philosophy, a revolutionary approach
to community building, the Kielburgers have inspired millions of young people,
parents, educators, and corporate leaders to reach out to help others in their
own neighborhoods and around the globe. Through Me to We, Craig and Marc are
advancing a new vision of philanthropy that connects business to a social
purpose by providing socially conscious products and experiences that support
the work of Free The Children. Every year, Me to We leads thousands of youth
and hundreds of families on volunteer trips overseas. Me to We provides full-time employment to more
than 1,000 women artisans in Kenya, and has created a global market for their
work through partnerships with the world’s leading retailers. Half of Me to We’s
annual net profit is donated to Free The Children while the other half is
reinvested to grow the enterprise and its social mission.
Through We Day, a series of inspirational events, which
launched in 2007 by the Kielburgers, are stadium sized event celebrating the
power of youth, which creates change. We Day has grown to include 14 global
events attended annually by 180,000 students, and reaching 5.4 million viewers
through televised broadcasts.
KIELBURGER Highlights
Craig has been awarded 15 honorary doctorates and degrees,
and has received the Order of Canada, the Roosevelt Freedom From Fear Medal,
the Word Children’s Prize for the rights of the Child, and the Muhammad Ali
Humanitarian Award.
Marc graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with
a degree in international relations. He won a coveted Rhodes Scholarship and
completed a law degree at Oxford University. He has also received nine honorary
doctorates and degrees for his work I the fields of education and human rights.
Marc is the recipient of many hours, including the Order of Canada and was
selected by the World Economic Forum as one of 250 Young Global Leaders. He was
also inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame for his humanitarian and youth
empowerment efforts.
Together, the brother’s works has been featured on The Oprah
Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes, as well as in National Geographic, TIME, and The
Economist. They have authored 12 books, and their weekly columns have been
syndicated in print and online news media throughout North America and around
the world.
Many of the youth look up to Chicago icons, especially Common, not only because of his deep common sense records, but also because of his dedication to help them along the way. His celebrity gives them hope that they too can be just as great, and to use their voice. During the press conference Common said, “We day is one of the avenues we can show how young people do really care and they are passionate about bettering their lives and the lives of other people, which in-turn, will help better the world”. He also says, “Now it’s about giving them the avenues and opportunities to seek out that better world, seek out the dreams, seek out the service, and with We Day, we’re seeing that being accomplished”. When asked, what is the one thing the youth can hold on to, Common expressed love, and to use your passion for the greater good, defining its importance on a spiritual level. He says,” to love the creator, love God, because it’s important to have a healthy community because you’ll have a foundation with a higher power”. He went into to detail to explain how if you love something enough, you’ll choose to do productive things over everything else. Common says, “Today and forever, love is the message to the children”.
The We Day Illinois Experience
From the moment we arrived, children from across the world,
of every color, were proud to earn a seat at the Allstate Arena. From the loud
cheers of their voices and smiles and sounds of laughter, it was a very warm
and comfortable environment. The local We Day dance crew, Puzzle League, kicked
the show off with a fun crowd interaction routine that gave us all very high
energy. Mustafa the Poet, writer, actor, and emcee, performed an awesome spoken
word piece that was truly a pleasure. Co-hosted by Jesse Giddings and
multi-platinum recording artist, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, the beautiful
Selena Gomez, We Day was very entertaining.
We enjoyed great performances by Ally Del Monte, a 16
year-old singer, songwriter, blogger, and activist, who was a victim of
bullying for years until she decided to stand up and take back her happiness,
along with GRAMMY Award-winning pop singer and songwriter, Colbie Cailat, 11-time
GRAMMY Award-winning R&B musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, Kenny
“Babyface” Edmonds, joined by the Chicago Children’s Choir, a phenomenal and
very inspiring spoken word piece, “Dreams”, by Common, and a very amazing
performance of the hit song, “Whatever
Makes You Happy” by Jennifer Hudson, and hip-hop artist, record producer,
philanthropist and entrepreneur, Lupe Fiasco, directed by Rex Hardy Jr. with
members of the Lemont High School and
King High School marching Bands.
We listened to a local youth panel discussion lead by film
and television actor, Allstate Spokesman, Dennis Haysbert, with co-founder of
The Cotacachi Honey fund, Nick Helfand, Bikes N Roses Project Director, Oscar
Rivera, and Connor Kenehan. We heard
speeches from Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the
first female space shuttle commander, retired NASA astronaut and United States
Air Force colonel, Lt. Colonel Eileen Collins, Academy Award-winning actress
and devoted social activist, Marlee Matlin, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning
actor and activist, Martin Sheen, four time Grammy-nominated R&B
singer-songwriter, actor, and New York Times Bestselling author, Tyrese Gibson,
social advocate, filmmaker and grandson of President Nelson Mandela, Kweku
Mandela and many more.
We Day Illinois youth focuses were on a few students that deserve every bit of their recognition.
Aashin Amin of Metaa Valley High School is passionate about
clean water and environmental degradation. In 2013/2014 he initiated the Free
The Children – Clean Water Project and supported FTC’s water pillar, by selling
t-shirts to fundraise for implementation of water pumps in developing
countries. He has risen over $600 and has planned another fundraiser at his
school that took place on Earth Day 2015 so that students could continue to
help support his project.
Neida Rodriguez of Daley Elementary School is passionate
about taking action and making a change in both her local and global
communities. Through the We Act program, Neida learned that $50 can buy a goat
for woman overseas, providing her and her family with a source of milk and
sustainable income. She wanted to combine this global initiative with a local
issue, so she organized a community walkathon for students and families to
raise enough money for 10 goats. The walkathon will take place in Cornell
Square Park; a park near to Neida’s school where in 2013 was the scene of a
traumatic shooting that killed 12 adults and a child. Neida is determined to
see this park used for positive impacts and have a reputation of community
empowerment, not violence.
Maurice Sanders of Christian Fenger High School is an active
member of the Mikva Challenge Peace and Leadership Council at Fenger H.S. his
pride in and hope for his school and his neighborhood sand out and make him a
natural leader who inspires others. At his school, Maurice has helped address
issues of attendance, the school lunch program, and lack of access to a school
nurse.
We asked some of the many children that filled the seats of
the arena, how has We Day changed your life, and many of them said similar
things, such as, It gives me more energy and motivation to do more to change
the world, one child stated that I will not worry about what someone is not
doing, I will change the world one deed at a time with as much as I can do.
This was a life-changing experience and we are glad to see so many young people
motivated and willing to do more to make the world a better place.
We Day is surely a wonderful platform, creating a generation
of compassionate youth taking the necessary steps to make a difference in their
communities and around the world. This organization has a 19-year history of
youth engagement that has been researched and proven to create transformative
change with immediate tangible benefits for the community it serves, as well as
long-term behavioral changes and social impacts among the youth involved.
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