WE Day is a celebration of youth making a difference in their local and global communities.
The next such event will be held on April 7, at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. One local athlete, Reilly Fox, who plays soccer for Paschal High School and last fall donned a football jersey as the team’s newest kicker, (and only female) was asked to take part in the event.
Through local WE schools initiatives and events like WE Day the organization hopes to inspire youth toward social action and community leadership. WE Day events combine the energy of a live concert with the inspiration of extraordinary stories of leadership.
On April 7, along with well-known celebrities and performers like: Charlize Theron, Selena Gomez, Kermit the Frog, and Demi Lovato; Fox will speak about her personal experience shattering gender stereotypes in her hometown of Fort Worth.
Other inspiring youths that will take to the big stage include an anti-gun activist, an inclusion and anti-bullying activist, and a youth speaker for HIV/AIDS initiatives. Fox has been dubbed WE Day’s Kick Like a Girl speaker.
When her story first came to light, the moniker “Kick Like a Girl” went world-wide encouraging other talented female athletes to challenge the norm and follow their passions.
“I am just mind-blown by how many younger girls I have inspired, because that wasn’t my plan when I decided to play football. I just joined to play,” says Reilly Fox. She is glad that WE Day reached out to her, and wants to tell her story. “Growing up I would always play with the boys and challenge myself to do better. I want younger girls to think that they can do anything they want − if they try.”
Thousands of young people attend international conferences annually to celebrate their contributions and kick-start another year of change. These stadium-sized events are held across Canada, the United States and the UK. This past year, 200,000 students attended WE Day and left inspired to create change at local and global levels.
You cannot buy a ticket to WE Day. Students earn their event tickets by taking one local and one global action through WE Schools, the organization’s yearlong educational program that engages and empowers young people to become compassionate leaders and active citizens. Fox hopes her story will inspire young girls at the next event.