Craig Kielburger with Heather at a pre-WE Day event at the Seattle Seahawks Corporate offices. At 12 years old, Toronto-born Craig Kielburger was featured on 60 Minutes for taking action against child slavery. He had read a Craig Kielburgernewspaper article about Iqbal Masih, a boy his own age in Pakistan. Iqbal’s parents, like many others, had offered their 4-year-old son’s labor in exchange for a small loan. Iqbal spent the next six years chained to a rug loom, working 12-hour days for pennies until he finally escaped and joined a crusade against child labor. Iqbal won worldwide recognition and then, at age 12, was shot dead in the streets of his village. Today, 17 years later, Kielburger brings We Day to Seattle for its U.S. launch at Seattle’s KeyArena on March 27, for which 15,000 students will earn their ticket through their leadership roles in local and global actions. We Day, which is tied to the We Act program, is an initiative of Free The Children and brings youth together to lead global change. (from ParentMap.com February 2013)
- Craig Kielburger with Heather at a pre-WE Day event at the Seattle Seahawks Corporate offices
WE Day Seattle returned for a second year and Q13 FOX was the media sponsor for the event.
Organized by International Charity Free The Children, We Day is a growing national event where students from around the Puget Sound are treated to a day of recognition and entertainment. Students cannot buy a ticket to We Day; they earn it through service by committing to take action on one local and one global initiative as part of a yearlong educational program called We Act. We Day takes place in Seattle this year on Friday March 21st, 2014 at Key Arena.
Heather got a chance to be a WE DAY reporter this year with her connections through Microsoft YouthSparks group. She reported on the day through her twitter account @WeDayReporter24.
About 15,000 students and teachers from over 450 schools across Washington state packed into the KeyArena Friday to celebrate We Day, an initiative of Free The Children. We Day encourages young students to be informed and involved in philanthropy across the community and the world.
Students who came didn’t buy a ticket, they’ve earned it. Throughout the day, they celebrated action and community involvement with renowned speakers such as Edward Norton and Pete Carroll, Cody Simpson and Flo Rida
Selfie with Heather’s hero, Spencer West. The amazing story of Spencer West begins when he lost both his legs due to a genetic disorder when he was only five. He was told by doctors that he would never be able to sit up, let alone walk. However, he didn’t take the advice and limitations and instead pursued a very active and social life. Oh yeah, and just a short while ago he climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. The grueling trip took seven days with him traveling on his hands for 80% of the trek with nothing but his two good friends by his side. He spent an entire year training for the climb to ensure his arms were strong enough to handle the trip. In addition, his incredible achievement helped raise £300,000 for the educational charity Free the children.
Pete Carroll, Super Bowl Champion Head Coach and co-chair of WE Day; photos by Heather Keyser
Heather, center, posted on Twitter, by Microsoft YouthSparks Group
To get learn more about “We Day Seattle” 2014, visit weday.com.
Read more about WE DAY.
