Martin Luther King III, Daya, Talib Kweli, Rowan Blanchard, Winnie Harlow, Buzz Aldrin, Angie Martinez, Jordan Fisher, Paula Abdul, Darren Criss & Computer Games and More Unite at WE Day New York Welcome to Celebrate Young People Changing the World

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Apr 06, 2017, 07:00 ET

NEW YORK, April 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, 6,000 youth from across the tri-state area will come together at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for WE Day, a youth empowerment event that celebrates everyday heroes and proves no one is too young to change the world. Today marks the inaugural New York edition of this international series of stadium-sized events. WE Day New York Welcome is hosted by multimedia icon, Angie Martinez, and will feature speeches and performances by Martin Luther King III, Daya, Talib Kweli, Rowan Blanchard, Winnie Harlow, Buzz Aldrin, Jordan Fisher, Paula Abdul, Mia Farrow, Darren Criss & Computer Games, Bailee Madison, Skai Jackson, Jordan Smith, J.R. Martinez, Celebrity Marauders and more.

WE Day streams live today starting at 9:30 a.m. ET at we.org/watchweday
Photos available on the WE Day New York Welcome Electronic Press Kit by 4 p.m. ET
WE Day is free to thousands of students in the tri-state area thanks to partners led by Co-Title Sponsors The Allstate Foundation, Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft

WE Day New York Welcome, made possible by Co-Title Sponsors The Allstate Foundation, Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft, pairs a star-studded lineup with international activists and WE co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger. Together, they are bringing the greatest classroom in the world to New York City to celebrate the remarkable volunteer efforts of students from the 200 tri-state schools in attendance—and the tens of thousands more watching the event streamed live on WE.org/watchweday. This day of unforgettable performances and motivational speeches aims to inspire youth to continue taking action on issues such as bullying, education and poverty—achieving transformative outcomes for themselves and others.

Making WE Day a true celebration of youth taking action, young people with inspiring stories join the WE Day New York Welcome lineup, including 10-year-old Nyeeam Hudson from New Jersey. Under the name "King Naah", Nyeeam has become a renowned motivational speaker—named one of America's most motivational kids by Forbes. Nyeeam first started gaining recognition after using social media to respond to a group of bullies. Nyeeam has recently authored his own inspirational children's book, We Are All Kings, which encourages young men to inspire others and aspire to achieve greatness. Nyeeam, along with many other inspiration young people, will be joining us on the WE Day New York Welcome stage.

"The young people at WE Day give me hope that a better world and a more united America is possible," said Martin Luther King III, human rights advocate and eldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "The students here today at WE Day New York Welcome are the leaders and activists of today and tomorrow. It fills me with pride to see their phenomenal actions and to be a part of celebrating these efforts and inspiring another year of change."

Speakers and performers at WE Day New York Welcome will energize the crowd through a full day of empowering educational speeches, inspirational moments and electrifying performances. A few must-see highlights include:

Human rights advocate and eldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Martin Luther King III, educates the crowd on the importance of social justice, civil rights and racial equality.
Multi-platinum singer, songwriter and recording artist, Daya, performs her hit songs "Hideaway" and "Sit Still, Look Pretty".
Astronaut, Apollo XI & Gemini 12 Global Space Statesman, Buzz Aldrin shares his extraordinary life story and expresses the power of space travel.

More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the free, educational program WE Schools. Providing schools and community groups with curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns, this program is designed to enhance a school's existing social initiatives or spark new ones. WE Schools encourages students to further their curricular learning and develop life skills for success beyond the classroom. Young people making an impact locally and globally are supported tools to help them to become real change-makers.

"Every year, more than 200,000 students from over 10,000 schools around the globe earn their tickets to WE Day through the yearlong WE Schools program, creating positive impacts in their communities," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. "WE Day New York Welcome will unite and celebrate thousands of young leaders who are working passionately for the causes they care about most, creating sustainable change in their own backyards and around the world."

In the 2015/2016 school year, more than 113,000 students in over 3,500 schools and groups across America enriched their communities through the WE Schools program. These young change-makers volunteered nearly 2.7 million hours and raised almost $4 million in support of 2,450 local and global causes. Students in the tri-state area focused their efforts on causes such as hunger, homelessness, poverty, bullying and violence. After a fellow peer experienced gun violence first-hand, students from Bronx's One World Middle School were determined to raise awareness around the issue in their community. They created a campaign encouraging Americans to pledge for peace. Their local efforts were so successful, the students expanded their message globally, uniting with peers who also had been affected by gun violence at Santa Elena Elementary School in Belize.

During the 2015/2016 school year, 82 percent of U.S. educators participating in WE Schools felt they were better equipped to teach about social justice issues through service-based learning opportunities for their students; 87 percent of educators said their students felt a greater connection to their local communities; and 77 percent of educators said the program engaged previously disengaged youth.

You can't buy a ticket to WE Day—students from across the country earn their way by the actions they take on one local and one global cause of their choice. WE Day is free of charge to students and educators, thanks to the generous support of partners led by Co-Title Sponsors The Allstate Foundation, Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft.

WE Day is supported in the tri-state area by Co-Chairs Carolyn Everson, Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook; Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever; Ornella Barra, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; and Lynne Doughtie, Chairman and CEO, KPMG US. Nationally, WE Day is supported by Co-Chairs Tom Wilson, Chairman and CEO, Allstate; Jane Francisco, Editorial Director of Hearst Lifestyle Group and Editor in Chief of Good Housekeeping; Steve Robinson, CEO, Reimagine & Janet Crown, Philanthropist, Crown Family Philanthropies; and Mike Dobbins Head, Strategy and Corporate Development, RBC.

Visit WE.org to take the WE Pledge, a commitment to living WE by making a difference every day.

About WE Day
WE Day is part of WE—an organization that brings people together and gives them the tools to change the world. A unique family of organizations, WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering change with resources that create sustainable impact, and ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences that allow people to do good through their everyday choices. The celebration of that change happens at WE Day—inspiring stadium-sized life-changing events that take place around the world. You can't buy a ticket to WE Day—young people earn their entry by taking action on one local and one global cause. WE Day unites world renowned speakers, presenters and award-winning performers with thousands of young people and families to celebrate and inspire another year of incredible change. This year alone over 200,000 young people will come together in 16 stadium gatherings across the U.S., Canada, and U.K. to take part in this unprecedented educational initiative.

A movement of 3.4 million young people supporting 2,500+ local and global causes, we've provided more than 1 million people with clean water and built 1,000 schools and schoolrooms overseas, giving more than 200,000 children access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by humanitarians, activists and social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the WE movement today at www.we.org.

About The Allstate Foundation
www.allstatefoundation.org/goodstartsyoung

About Unilever
www.unileverusa.com

About Walgreens
www.walgreens.com

About Microsoft
www.Microsoft.com/WEDay

For more information on WE Day or to request an interview, please contact:

Camila Ossa
Associate Director, Public Relations, WE Day
+1-416-885-5522
[email protected]

Rebecca Raveendran
Manager, Public Relations, WE Day
+1-416-346-2790
[email protected]

SOURCE WE Day