WE Day Toronto announces initial lineup including Emilio Estevez, Rupi Kaur, Sarah McLachlan, Noah Schnapp, David Suzuki, Tegan and Sara and WE Charity's Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger uniting to celebrate youth and teachers creating lasting social change

– Click here to apply for media accreditation to attend WE Day –
– WE Day Toronto is free to thousands of students and teachers thanks to partners led by National Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS –

TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2019 /CNW/ - Today, WE Day, the greatest celebration of social good, announces the initial dynamic lineup set to hit the stage at WE Day Toronto taking place at Scotiabank Arena on September 19, 2019. Held in 15 cities across North America, the U.K. and the Caribbean, WE Day Toronto will unite 20,000 extraordinary students and teachers who have made a difference in their local and global communities. Together they will enjoy a day of unforgettable performances and motivational speeches with WE Charity co-founders Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger, Emilio Estevez, Rupi Kaur, Sarah McLachlan, Noah Schnapp, David Suzuki, Tegan and Sara and more to be announced in the coming days.

"We can achieve so much more together than we can alone and knowing that we're a part of something bigger than ourselves is a great feeling," said singer-songwriter, Sarah McLachlan. "Every student and teacher at WE Day is making a difference on their own, but when they come together under one roof, you can feel the massive impact of their collective efforts. I'm proud to be a part of such a powerful movement of change."

More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the free, year-long 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 life skills to succeed beyond the classroom. In the 2018/2019 school year, over 6,920 schools and youth groups along with 8,125 educators across Ontario improved the world through WE Schools, creating socially innovative solutions to some of today's most pressing issues. Through WE Schools students and teachers volunteered over 1.7 million hours creating an estimated social impact value of more than $45 million in support of global and local causes including hunger, poverty, bullying, well-being, access to education and access to clean water in communities around the globe.

"The youth at WE Day are at the forefront of change. They are committed to tackling some of the largest issues the world has ever faced; including bullying, climate change, and mental well-being, to name a few," said WE Charity co-founder, Craig Kielburger. "WE Day demonstrates how important it is to empower our youth to be leaders of change by providing them with the tools and resources they need to chase their dreams—both in the classroom and out in their communities. We are honoured to celebrate the efforts of the next generation and we can't wait to once again commemorate their incredible achievements at WE Day Toronto."

The initial list of WE Day Toronto speakers, presenters and performers in alphabetical order, announced to date, include:

• Appearances by: Nav Bhatia, Celebrity Marauders, Jessi Cruickshank, Maddy Dimakos, Tyrone Edwards, Emilio Estevez, Mohammed Faizy, Jordan Fisher, Sarain Fox, Connor Franta, Reina Foster, Jacob Grosberg, Jade's Hip Hop Academy, Theland Kicknosway, Craig Kielburger, Marc Kielburger, Aiden Lee, Penny Oleksiak, James Orbinski, Jenna Ortega, Dr. Pamela Palmater, Marissa Papaconstatinou, David Patchell-Evans, Regent Park School of Music, Navia Robinson, Noah Schnapp, Wali Shah, David Suzuki, Maddison Tory, Alia Youssef, Spencer West, Chloe Wilde
  
  
• Performers: Scott Helman, Rupi Kaur, Sarah McLachlan, SonReal, Tegan and Sara

WE Day is free of charge to teachers and students 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.

WE Day magic continues beyond the day through WE Day Connect, a free 60-minute interactive online event taking place on October 8, 2019.  

WE Day is supported in Toronto by Co-Chairs Kris Depencier, Regional President, Greater Toronto, & Vice President, Personal Lending and Client Strategies, RBC; Sarah Davis, President, Loblaws Companies Limited; and Jon Levy, Chief Executive Officer, Mastermind Toys. WE Day is supported nationally by Co-Chairs, Darren Entwistle, President & Chief Executive Officer, TELUS; Jennifer Tory, Chief Administrative Officer, RBC; 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, Former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario; Bill Thomas, Chairman Elect, KPMG International & Chair, KPMG's Americas Region, KPMG; James Villeneuve, Former Consul General of Canada to Los Angeles; and Andrew Williams, Chief Executive Officer, DHL Express Canada. WE Day is supported globally by Co-Chairs David Aisenstat, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President, Keg Restaurants Ltd.; Hartley Richardson, President & Chief Executive Officer, James Richardson & Sons Ltd.; Dave I. McKay, President & Chief Executive Officer, RBC; and Craig Burkinshaw, Co-Founder, Audley Travel.

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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 (www.we.org).

About RBC
www.rbc.com/futurelaunch 

About TELUS
www.telus.com/endbullying 

SOURCE WE Charity