We Day, the world’s largest youth empowerment stadium event will be coming to Illinois for the first time on April 30, and some of the biggest names in show business, including Jennifer Hudson, Selena Gomez, Common, Babyface, The Band Perry and more, will be on-hand for the extravaganza.
The star-studded event, slated for the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim in Rosemont, will bring together 15,000 students and teachers from over 500 schools for a full day of educational speeches, inspirational moments, music and spoken-word performances, according to We Day co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger.
We Day is connected to the year-long We Act program, which provides educational resources and campaigns to help young people turn the day’s inspiration into sustained action. We Day provides a platform for youth to learn about some of today’s pressing social issues, helping to inspire them to become leaders and global citizens and to take action on the issues most important to them.
You can’t buy a ticket to We Day. Young people earn the free tickets by committing to take action on local and global causes of their choice.
The full list of speakers, performers and presenters announced to date include:
— Common (@common) – Award-winning hip-hop artist, actor, founder of the Common Ground Foundation and co-chair of We Day Illinois
— Jennifer Hudson (@IAMJHUD) – Academy® and GRAMMY® award-winning actress and musician and co-founder of the Julian D. King Gift Foundation and national co-chair of We Day
— Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) – Actress, multi-platinum recording artist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and co-host of We Day Illinois
— Martin Sheen – Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning actor and activist
— Earvin “Magic” Johnson (@MagicJohnson) – NBA legend, two-time Hall-of-Famer, entrepreneur and philanthropist
— The Band Perry (@thebandperry) – Grammy Award-winning country music group
— Colbie Caillat (@ColbieCaillat) – Grammy Award-winning pop singer and songwriter
— Babyface (@KennyEdmonds) – 11-time Grammy Award-winning R&B musician, singer–songwriter and record producer
— Rico Rodriguez (@StarringRico) – Actor from the hit television series Modern Family
— Raini Rodriguez (@Raini_Rodriguez) – Singer and actress on Disney Channel’s “Austin & Ally”
— Hannah Simone (@HannahSimone) – Actress from hit television series “New Girl”
— Lamorne Morris (@lamornemorris) – Actor from the hit television series New Girl
— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) – Academy Award-winning actress and devoted social activist
— Lt. Colonel Eileen Collins – First female space shuttle commander, retired NASA astronaut and United States Air Force colonel
— Kweku Mandela (@kwekumandela) – Social advocate, filmmaker, and grandson of President Nelson Mandela
— Dennis Haysbert (@HaysbertDennis) – Film and television actor and Allstate spokesman
— Tom Wilson (@Allstate) – Chairman and CEO of The Allstate Corporation and co-chair of We Day Illinois
— Mustafa the Poet (@MustafaThePoet) – 18-year-old poet, writer, actor and emcee
— Craig and Marc Kielburger (@craigkielburger) – International activists and co-founders of We Day
— Spencer West (@spencer2thewest) – Me to We motivational speaker, Free The Children ambassador and author
— Ashley Rose Murphy (@AshleyRose_FTC) – Motivational youth speaker
— Ezra Frech (@TeamEzra05) – 9-year-old athlete and motivational speaker
·— Ally Del Monte (@Loser_Gurls) – Singer, songwriter, blogger and activist
According to an event statement, “Allstate is the National Co-Title Sponsor of We Day and We Act across the United States, and will be helping empower 1.4 million youth through the partnership. Allstate’s support is bringing 12 We Day events to the United States by 2016 and is making We Act’s service learning program available across the United States to youth and teachers at no cost.”
For more information visit www.weday.com
