Gathered in three countries, WE Day has spawned youth from their schools to a day filled with inspiration, entertainment, and gratuity. Created based off of WE Schools, “WE Day is the manifestation of the WE Movement, an ocean of people coming together to create an impact” (we.org). WE Club was first created by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Craig was only 12 years old when he read about a Pakistani child named Iqbal Masih who battled child labor and ended up being murdered (beyondinractibility.org). The founders wanted to create change but were told that they were too young to make a difference in this world by many charitable organizations. With the help of their classmates, they created “Free the Children” which aids in freeing youth from child labor and help their families get money, education, water etc.

Their movement starting in 1995, has skyrocketed and has created WE Clubs in thousands of schools in the US, Canada, and the UK. WE Day was made to honor and acknowledge the work of students who make a difference to the others less fortunate. The first WE Day was held 2007 in Ontario and has kept the tradition of bringing in a star-studded lineup of celebrities to spread the word to more people. YLHS’s WE Club recently went to WE Day California at the Forum in Los Angeles on April 19. Our WE Club has been very fortunate to go this year and past years, with club president, Britney Nguyen (12) speaking on behalf of YLHS on the WE Day stage. A recap of the day is in action.

The WE Club members walked into the forum with excitement and joy, for they will be seeing celebrities and motivational speakers. Sarah Kim (10) even felt that “the atmosphere at WE Day was so positive and joyous.” The day started off with pumping up the stadium. Throughout the day, stars such as Selena Gomez, Lily Collins, Lilly Singh, The Chainsmokers, John Stamos, Will Ferrell, and more went up on stage and talked or performed in the hopes of spreading the WE Movement. After the brief intermission for lunch, Britney Nguyen went up onstage with Jojo Siwa to talk about the YLHS WE Club to the thousands of people in the Forum. She elaborated about the events that WE Club does at school, and our future CHOC Mental Health Awareness Fundraiser. Britney perfectly showcased YLHS in good terms to the crowd and celebrities. By the end of the day, the energy was still going strong and WE Day finished with an amazing performance by Jordan Fisher. In the end, WE Day was a terrific time for WE Schools from California.

I attended WE Day and thought it was such a happy and encouraging experience. Personally, as the Secretary/Treasurer of the YLHS WE Club, I believe that WE Days have inspired many, like myself, to do good in our community and in our greater community, which is the world. WE Day has also shown that no matter what age, race, religion, etc., that anyone can make the Earth a better place. All in all, WE Day California 2018 was successful in motivating the youth on the west coast and putting forward the WE Movement to the world.