James Arthur, Emilio Estevez, Rupi Kaur, Sarah McLachlan, David Suzuki and WE Charity's Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger celebrate young people leading social change at WE Day Toronto

– WE Day Toronto will stream live at 9:00 a.m. ET today at we.org/watchweday –
– WE Day Toronto is free to students thanks to partners led by Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS–
– WE Carpet photos will be available at 10 a.m. ET and WE Day Toronto photos will be available at 4 p.m. ET in the Electronic Press Kit  –

TORONTO, Sept. 19, 2019 /CNW/ - Today, WE Day Toronto returns to the Scotiabank Arena bringing together thousands of students and teachers from across the province who have created a lasting change in their local and global communities. This inspiring celebration for social good features renowned speakers, innovative thought leaders and dynamic performers including, James Arthur, Emilio Estevez, WE co-founders, Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger, Rupi Kaur, Sarah McLachlan, Johnny Orlando, David Suzuki and more. The lineup of speakers and performers will be joined by the coveted Toronto Raptors' Larry O'Brien NBA championship trophy on the WE Day Toronto WE 'blue' Carpet, ahead of the event.

"I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a celebration that gives young people a platform to speak out and take action on the issues that they care about," said Singer, James Arthur. "It's encouraging to know that no matter how challenging it may seem, everyone at WE Day Toronto is here to support one another and bring good to the world; it's absolutely incredible."

List of WE Day Toronto speakers, presenters and performers in alphabetical order, include:

• Appearances by: Dillion Adams-Lane, Isabelle al Jabri, Asfiya Aziz, Nav Bhatia, Celebrity Marauders, Alessa Crispo, Jessi Cruickshank, Maddy Dimakos, Tyrone Edwards, Emilio Estevez, Mohammed Faizy, Jordan Fisher, Lauren and Kaitlin Grierson, Sarain Fox, Connor Franta, Reina Foster, Jacob Grosberg, Jade's Hip Hop Academy, Theland Kicknosway, Craig Kielburger, Marc Kielburger, Aiden Lee, Nichole Leveck, Penny Oleksiak, James Orbinski, Jenna Ortega, Johnny Orlando, Dr. Pamela Palmater, Marissa Papaconstatinou, David Patchell-Evans, Regent Park School of Music, Navia Robinson, Wali Shah, Price Smith, David Suzuki, Maddison Tory, George Yachouh, Alia Youssef, Spencer West, Chloe Wilde
  
  
• Performers: James Arthur, Scott Helman, Rupi Kaur, Sarah McLachlan, SonReal

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 teachers with educational resources and action campaigns to encourage students to further their curricular learning and develop social and emotional skills to succeed beyond the classroom. In the 2018/2019 school year, over 3,200 school groups from across the province participated in WE Schools, creating socially innovative solutions to today's pressing issues and taking action in support of global and local causes including hunger, poverty, bullying, well-being, equality, access to education and access to clean water in communities across the globe.

Speakers and performers at WE Day Toronto will energize the crowd through a day filled with powerful educational speeches, inspirational moments and empowering performances. A few must-see highlights include:

• Singer and songwriter, Sarah McLachlan performs World on Fire and Angel along with the Regent Park School of Music choir.
  
  
• Poet, artist and performer, Rupi Kaur performs her powerful poem, Broken English.
  
  
• Canada's most decorated summer Olympian at a single Olympics, Penny Oleksiak, introduces fellow athlete, Paralympian, Marissa Papaconstantinou, who speaks about how overcoming obstacles and learning from both your achievements and failures are all part of the journey towards success.
  
  
• A surprise video message from Bianca Andreescu Canada's first Grand Slam singles champion, that celebrates the hard work and determination of the youth in the audience.
  
  
• Singer-songwriter, James Arthur closes off the day with an incredible performance of his hit songs, Impossible, Rewrite the Stars and Say You Won't Let Go.

"Changing the world is no small feat, and every student and teacher at WE Day Toronto has stepped up to the challenge of making an impact in their local communities and beyond," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. "The energy of thousands of committed young people excited to make a difference is like nothing else in the world, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to honour and celebrate them today."

WE Day is free of charge to students and teachers across Canada thanks to the generous support of partners led by National Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS. This means students can't buy a ticket to WE Day Toronto— educators and youth from across the province earn their way by taking action on one local and one global issue of their choice.

The WE Day magic continues across the country with the inspirational one-hour WE Day special airing Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV and the CTV App. Made possible by Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS, the WE Day special will showcase the amazing stories of youth, teachers and families who have taken action to change the world

Stay connected on the latest news and updates on WE Day:
#WEday | @WEmovement | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | Media Centre 

WE Day is supported in Toronto by Co-Chairs Kris Depencier, Regional President, Greater Toronto, RBC Royal Bank; Sarah Davis, President, Loblaw Companies Limited; and, Jon Levy, Chief Merchant & Co-Founder, CEO, Mastermind Toys. WE Day is supported nationally by Co-Chairs, Darren Entwistle, President & Chief Executive Officer, TELUS; Jennifer Tory, Chief Administrative Officer, RBC Royal Bank; Chief Perry Bellegarde, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations; Mark Dervishian, Chief Operating Officer, Ardene; Nelly Furtado, Canadian Singer/Songwriter; Jeffrey Latimer, President, Jeffrey Latimer Entertainment; Elio Luongo, Chief Executive Officer, KPMG Canada; The Honourable David C. Onley, The 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario; Bill Thomas, Chairman KPMG International; James Villeneuve, Senior Advisor, Faskens; Andrew Williams, Chief Executive Officer, DHL Express Canada. WE Day is supported globally by Co-Chairs David Aisenstat, CEO, The Keg Steakhouse + Bar, Chairman, The Keg Spirit Foundation; Hartley Richardson, President & Chief Executive Officer; James Richardson & Sons Ltd.; Dave I. McKay, President & Chief Executive Officer, RBC Royal Bank; and, Craig Burkinshaw, Co-Founder, Audley Travel.

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 by New York Times Bestselling authors Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger, in 1995, 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.

WE's headquarters is based in downtown Toronto at the WE Global Learning Centre, a service and social innovation accelerator for young people, leading them to become the next generation of leaders and towards a brighter future.

Join the movement today at WE.org.

Stay connected on the latest news and updates on WE Day:
#WEday | @WEmovement | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Media Centre

About RBC
www.rbc.com/futurelaunch 

About TELUS
www.telus.com/endbullying 

SOURCE WE Charity

For more information on WE Day or to request an interview, please contact: Camila Ossa, Associate Director, Public Relations, WE Day, 647-459-4460, [email protected], Janet Briscoe, Manager, External Communications, WE Day, 647-269-3118, [email protected]