Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Lights, Aimee Song, LaurDIY and more celebrate young change-makers at WE Day Vancouver

– Bios, photos and information for WE Day Vancouver available on the Electronic Press Kit –
– WE Day Vancouver is free to thousands of students thanks to partners led by National Co-Title Sponsors RBC and TELUS –
– WE Day Family Vancouver is supported by partners led by National Co-Title Sponsors
RBC and TELUS in partnership with Parq and Victory Square Technologies –

VANCOUVER, Nov. 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Today, WE Day, returns to Vancouver bringing together over 20,000 students and educators to Rogers Arena to celebrate young people committed to making a difference. This powerful all day youth empowerment event features renowned speakers, innovative thought leaders and performers with WE co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger, co-hosts Millie Davis, Tyrone Edwards, Liz Trinnear, Tai Young, along with Anna Cathcart, Celebrity Marauders, Grace Dove, Shawn Hook, JRDN, LaurDIY, Karina Leblanc, Lights, Peter Mansbridge, SonReal, Drew Scott, Aimee Song, Esera Tuaolo, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Margaret Trudeau, Wali, Spencer West, Asalah Youssef and more.

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

• Looking to inspire and empower youth to promote their own well-being, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau announces her partnership with WE Well-being as an ambassador and ally, and shares simple everyday actions youth can take to promote positive self-care—click for photos and video of this special moment. As part of her role as a WE Well-being Ambassador, Sophie is going back to her journalism roots and hosting a podcast series launching in 2019 in support of the new initiative. WE Well-being is a new initiative that empowers youth and families with educational tools and resources to promote their own positive well-being and the well-being of their community.

"By sharing my story l was able to help break down the stigma surrounding mental health and more importantly let others know that they are not alone," said Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. "We are united by the ability to share our personal experiences and I am so proud to be a part of WE Well-being. I want to encourage young people to have open and honest conversations with themselves, by doing so we proactively work on ourselves and create safe and caring environments that foster resiliency."

More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the free, yearlong educational program WE Schools. The program is designed to enhance a school or community's existing social initiatives or spark new ones. WE Schools provides participants with curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns, encouraging students to further their curricular learning and develop life skills to succeed beyond the classroom. In the 2017/2018 school year, WE Schools participants across Vancouver volunteered more than 900,000 hours and raised over $1.7 million in support of over 660 local and global causes including homelessness, food security, LGBTQ2+ rights, the environment, access to education and access to clean water.

WE Day is free of charge to students and educators 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 Vancouver—youth from across the province earn their way by taking action on one local and one global issue of their choice.

"From mental well-being, to homelessness, to bullying, to education, to so much more, the young people coming together today for WE Day Vancouver show us that kindness, compassion and inclusivity paired with the determination to do good makes a real impact in the world," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. "Not only are we celebrating the achievements made by tens of thousands of students, we are continuing to inspire and be inspired as they embark on another school year of creating positive social change."

WE Day kicked-off its two-day celebration of social good during the evening of Wednesday, November 21, with the first-ever WE Day Family Vancouver featuring Jessi Cruickshank, Lights, Sarah McLachlan, Drew Scott and Linda Phan, Esera Tuaolo and Peter Mansbridge. Supported by National Co-Title sponsors RBC and TELUS, and in partnership with Parq and Victory Square Technologies, families enjoyed an evening of inspirational speakers, live music performances and stories from families who are helping to make Vancouver a more caring place.

WE Day inspiration continues beyond today in a broadcast special that will premiere on Saturday, November 24, 2018 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV and through WE Day Connect, an interactive, online event accessible to students across the globe taking place on Thursday, November 29, 2018.

WE Day Vancouver is supported by local founding co-chair Lorne Segal, President, Kingswood Capital Management. WE Day Family Vancouver is supported by Della and Stuart McLaughlin, Higher Ground Holdings; Scott Menke, CEO, Paragon Gaming/Parq; Shafin Diamond Tejani, Founder and CEO, Victory Square Technologies; and Dr. Djavad Mowafaghian, Founder, The Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation. Nationally, WE Day is supported by Jennifer Tory, Chief Administrative Officer, RBC; Darren Entwistle, President and CEO, TELUS; Elio Luongo, CEO, KPMG Canada; Bill Thomas, Chairman, KPMG International and Chair, KPMG's Americas Region; Andrew Williams, CEO, DHL Express Canada; Nelly Furtado, Canadian Singer/Songwriter; Jeffrey Latimer, President, Jeffrey Latimer Entertainment; The Honourable David C. Onley, Former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario; and Chief Perry Bellegarde, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations. Globally, WE Day is supported by Dave I. McKay, President and CEO, RBC; David Aisenstat, Chairman and CEO, Keg Restaurants Ltd.; Hartley Richardson, President and CEO, James Richardson & Sons Ltd.; and Craig Burkinshaw, Co-Founder, Audley Travel.

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

About WE
WE Day is part of WE—a family of organizations making 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 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. Globally, WE teams in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have provided more than 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 was founded more than 20 years ago by social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the movement today at WE.org.

About RBC
www.rbc.com/futurelaunch

About TELUS
www.telus.com/endbullying

About Parq Vancouver
www.parqvancouver.com/community/

About Victory Square Technologies 
www.victorysquare.com

SOURCE WE Charity

on WE Day or to request an interview, please contact: Camila Ossa, Associate Director, Public Relations, WE Day, 1-647-459-4460, [email protected]; Sarah Evans, Associate Director, Public Relations, WE Day, 1-647-462-0654, [email protected]