Minnesota Nice Club celebrates at We Day
J.R. Martinez, actor and motivational speaker, discusses his journey after coming back from serving in Iraq. Martinez gave advice to the audience about how to deal with being unique.
The crowd jumps around to the We Day dance. We Day volunteers had taught the crowd the dance at the beginning of the event.
The Band Perry sings their song, “If I Die Young.” They were the first singing act of the show.
Spencer West teaches the lesson, “Empowerment Through Technology and Innovation.” He talked about how technology helped him travel throughout the country despite his disability.
The audience crowds around the front of the stage. 18,000 people were in attendance.
The HHS students who went to We Day. First row: Sam Kaminsky, senior Second row: Isabella Weisman, Brit Stein, Julia Laden, Maddie Ansel, seniors. Third row: Julie Ward, Christine Otieno, Max Sandler, Mosey Krelitz, Brian Yu, seniors. Zoe Epperson, junior.
Colbie Caillat performs her song, “Try.” Caillat’s song complimented the theme of having confidence in yourself.
Ashley Murphy, motivational youth speaker, talks about her experience going to Africa. Murphy talked about what is was like comparing the HIV health care she receives to the HIV health care Africans receive.
On Nov. 12, twelve students from the Minnesota Nice club attended We Day Minnesota.
Minnesota Nice Club is a club at HHS that prides itself in taking part in both local and global service projects in hope to live up to their name.
We Day is an event held by Free The Children that celebrates the empowerment of young global citizens. According to the We Day website, the movement is trying to make young people “locally active, globally aware.”
The students joined 18,000 other students and educators from across Minnesota in celebration at the Xcel Energy Center.
“The most inspiring part was how every individual came together to be a part of such a big change. You are put into the Xcel Center and every seat is full; you aren’t just one person. When everyone comes together, the numbers are endless and the things you can do are too,” said Julia Laden, senior.
We Day invites school clubs to join the event based on how many volunteer hours each club has done. Each club is required to have participated in one local service act and one global act.
So far this year, the Minnesota Nice club has made cards for the local childrens’ hospital, made blankets for local nursing homes, and held a bake sale to fundraise for Free The Children. The Minnesota Nice Club plans giving the money to families in third world countries who need goats.
The theme of the 2014 We Day was empowerment. Celebrities such as Magic Johnson and The Band Perry attended to speak about the importance of volunteering at both the local and global levels.
Here is a list of all the speakers and performers at We Day:
Magic Johnson – NBA legend, two-time hall of famer, philanthropist and co-chair of We Day California
Martin Sheen – Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning actor and activist
The Band Perry – Award-winning country music group
Lt. Colonel Eileen Collins – First female space shuttle commander, retired NASA astronaut and former United States Air Force colonel
JR Martinez – Actor, motivational speaker, bestselling author and former U.S. Army soldier and winner of Dancing With The Stars
Lennon & Maisy Stella – Actors and Musicians who play Maddie and Daphne Conrad on ABC’s “Nashville”
Kweku Mandela –Social advocate, filmmaker, and grandson of President Nelson Mandela
Clementine Wamariya – Survivor of the Rwandan genocide, former refugee, Yale graduate, accomplished public speaker
iLuminate – Technology based performance group fusing music, dance and technology
Munro Chambers & Ana Golja – Cast members from the Emmy-nominated TV series DEGRASSI
Craig and Marc Kielburger – International activists and co-founders of We Day
Spencer West – Me to We motivational speaker, Free The Children ambassador and author
Ashley Rose Murphy – Motivational youth speaker
Robin Wiszowaty – Me to We motivational speaker, author, and Free The Children Program Director in Ghana and Kenya
To learn more about We Day and their mission, visit:
