Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rupi Kaur, Elaine Welteroth and WE's Craig Kielburger unite at WE Day Illinois to celebrate youth creating lasting social change
– Click here to apply for media accreditation to attend WE Day Illinois –
– WE Day Illinois will stream live at 9:30 a.m. CDT on May 8, 2019 at we.org/watchweday –
– WE Day Illinois is free to thousands of students thanks to partners led by Title Sponsor
The Allstate Foundation –
– WE Day Illinois background information and photos is available on the Electronic Press Kit –
CHICAGO, April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Today, WE Day, the greatest celebration of social good, announces the dynamic lineup set to hit the stage at WE Day Illinois. With stadium sized events across North America, the U.K. and the Caribbean, WE Day returns to Illinois celebrating 15,000 extraordinary students and educators who have made a difference in their local and global communities. Together they will share in a day of unforgettable performances and motivational speeches with WE co-founders and international activists Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger, co-hosts Karan Brar and Marcus Scribner along with Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young Ambassador Monique Coleman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rupi Kaur, Elaine Welteroth, and more additions still to be announced. Led by Title Sponsor, The Allstate Foundation, WE Day Illinois will be held at the Allstate Arena on May 8, 2019.
"I couldn't be prouder to return to the WE Day stage today with so many powerful youth from across Illinois in attendance," said actor, Marcus Scribner. "Their voices matter, and today's event is a reminder that together they're creating real change in America – it's such an incredible thing."
More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the free, yearlong service-learning program, WE Schools. Designed to enhance a school or community's existing social initiatives or spark new ones, WE Schools provides participants with curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns, encouraging students to further their curricular learning and develop life skills to succeed beyond the classroom. In the 2017/2018 school year, over 850 schools and school groups across Illinois improved the world through WE Schools, collectively volunteering over 685,000 hours and raising more than $550,000 in support of over 385 global and local causes including bringing awareness to homelessness, food security, LGBTQ+ rights, access to education, and access to clean water in overseas communities, and the environment.
"We are surrounded by young leaders who are working together to positively impact their local and global communities. It's incredibly inspiring to see young people who are committed to changing the world," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. "WE Day Illinois will bring together thousands of students who are raising their collective voice as they work towards creating a better future for all — this generation is speaking up and the world is listening."
The initial list of WE Day Illinois hosts, speakers and performers in alphabetical order, announced to date, includes:
- Co-Hosts: Karan Brar, Marcus Scribner
- Speakers and Presenters: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bushra Amiwala, Celebrity Marauders, Monique Coleman, Isaiah Day, Arne Duncan, Laurie Hernandez, Olivia Holt, Rupi Kaur, Craig Kielburger, Marc Kielburger, Carlil Pittman, Radka Pribyl Pierdinock, Kheris Rogers, Kendrick Sampson, Angel Schlotterback, Alexandra Shipp, Margaret Trudeau, Elaine Welteroth, Tom Wilson
- Performers: Bishop Briggs, Kim Tyler and Endure Dancers, JD McCrary
- Co-chairs: WE Day is supported in Illinois by Co-Chairs Tom Wilson, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Allstate; Alex Gourlay, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; Linda Imonti, National Partner in Charge, Advisory Office Leaders & Chicago Advisory Office Leader, KPMG LLP; Arne Duncan, Managing Partner, Emerson Collective & Former U.S. Secretary of Education. WE Day is supported by National Co-Chairs Janet Crown, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Burn 60 Studios & Steve Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, Zilliance & Officer LAPD/Hawthorne PD; Tom Wilson, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Allstate; and Jane Francisco, Editor in Chief, Good Housekeeping & Editorial Director, Hearst Lifestyle Group.
WE Day Illinois is free of charge to students and educators across the state thanks to the generous support of sponsors led by Title Sponsor The Allstate Foundation. This means students can't buy a ticket to WE Day Illinois—youth from across the state earn their way by taking action on one local and one global issue of their choice.
The WE Day inspiration continues beyond the day through WE Day Connect, a free 90-minute interactive online event powered by Microsoft and The Allstate Foundation. Transcending geographical barriers, WE Day Connect unites tens of thousands of students and educators from across the globe to celebrate and learn from one another's service actions. WE Day Connect takes place on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 1 p.m. ET/ 10 a.m. PT. Visit WE.org/wedayconnect to learn more.
About WE
WE Day is part of WE—a family of organizations that makes doing good, doable. WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering domestic and international change; ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity; and WE Day, filling stadiums around the world with the greatest celebration of social good.
WE Charity was founded in 1995 by then 12-year-old Craig Kielburger with a mission to fight child labor. WE has since grown and evolved to address the root cause of child labor – extreme poverty. In the past 24 years, WE's programs have empowered over 1 million people with clean water, built 1,500 schools and schoolrooms overseas, and empowered more than 200,000 children with access to education.
WE enables youth and families to better the world—supporting 7,200+ local and global causes by volunteering millions of hours of service, shopping daily with an impact, and raising millions of dollars that directly benefit their local communities and the world. Join the movement today at WE.org .
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About The Allstate Foundation
www.AllstateFoundation.org
SOURCE WE Charity
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