I remember what it was like when I was in elementary school and high school and wanting to make a change and change the world.  It must have started when I was 10 years old and tears poured down my cheeks as I saw logging trucks pulling away with hundreds of logs.  At 10 years of age, I was worried about clear cutting and our forests not being replenished.  I worried about our ecosystem and animals losing their homes due to all the logging being done near our home.  The fields we ran through and played hide and seek in when we were kids were eventually turned into box stores and restaurants.  Those memories of those early years still stay with me.

In grade 5, I wrote a letter to our Minister of Environment at the time. I received a lovely letter in response thanking me for my concern for the environment.

Years later, I wondered if or how a young person like myself could have a voice and be heard…and effectively make a change in this world.

Then came We Day.

Sure, with youth, strides in making local and global change are always in progress, but We Day is something completely different from anything I have ever heard about.

We Day is part of a family of organizations, including Free The Children and Me to We, that has a shared goal: to empower a generation to shift the world from ‘me’ to ‘we’—through how we act, how we give, the choices we make on what to buy and what to wear, the media we consume and the experiences with which we choose to engage.

We Day and Free The Children

How are the international charity and the movement of our time connected?

We Day is an initiative of Free The Children.

Free The Children is an international charity and educational partner that educates, engages and empowers youth to become agents of change. We Day inspires us into action. (from the We Day website)

I got a glimpse today of some of the inspirational speakers that we will listen to tomorrow at the Air Canada Centre. 20,000 youth will fill the ACC and I’m sure inspiration will turn into action after hearing the speakers and performers.

Just some of the people we got to chat with today:

Also looking forward to listening to  Craig and Marc Kielburger, Col. Chris Hadfield, Hon. Kathleen Wynne, Martin Luther King III, Molly Burke, Spencer West, and the amazing Hannah Alper!  Of course, I’m also excited to hear performances by Barenaked Ladies, Serena Ryder, and all the other performers.

Stay tuned for more We Day posts! I have so much I want to share with you…including a new app!

Just a little info: TELUS and Free the Children launched a free mobile app and website for We365. It’s a social platform that enables young people to track and verify their volunteer activities for school. We365 serves as a hub for communications for 85,000 registered charities in Canada. It can also be used for fundraising activities and will be available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android in October.

You’ll have to hang tight and wait for my next post to hear more about it!

A big thank you to TELUS for including me in all of the WeDay excitement.

Plus, it’s always a fun day when I get to hang out with @PTPASharon! Leave us alone with a box of props and of course we will pose with the TELUS monkey!