Home SF Bay Area 2014 WE Day California #WeDay #California

2014 WE Day California #WeDay #California

by TerriAnn
2014 WE Day California volunteer / charity celebration event with celebrities and motivational speakers #WEDay

Last month, on several of my social accounts, I was receiving the same question over and over – “Where are you?” In sharing photos of various celebrities and motivational figures, people were wondering where and why all these famous stars were gathering together. It was all in honor of the WE Day California.

2014 WE Day California volunteer / charity celebration event with celebrities and motivational speakers #WEDay

2014 WE Day California Event

The first and only stop of the WE Day event tour in California happened to be in my area and, together with my family, I had the privilege of going there. Tickets to this event could not be bought, they could only be earned though hours of volunteer service. 16,000 students and educators from across the state were attendance to see the all-star line-up:

  • J. Cole (@JColeNC) –  GRAMMY®-nominated hip hop artist
  • Big Sean (@BigSean) – American hip hop recording artist
  • Rico Rodriguez (@StarringRico) – Actor from the hit television series Modern Family
  • Raini Rodriguez (@Raini_Rodriguez) – Singer and actress on Disney® channel’s Austin &  Ally
  • Laila Ali (@TheRealLailaAli) – TV host, Four-time world boxing champion and daughter of global icon & humanitarian Muhammad Ali
  • Evanna Lynch (@Evy_Lynch) – Actress known for her role of Luna Lovegood in the “Harry Potter” movie franchise
  • Clemantine Wamariya (@Clemantine1) – Rwandan Genocide survivor and former refugee, Yale graduate, accomplished public speaker
  • Selena Gomez (@SelenaGomez) – Actress and multi-platinum recording artist
  • Seth Rogen (@SethRogen) – Canadian-born actor, writer, director, and producer
  • Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) – NBA legend, two-time hall of famer, philanthropist and co-chair of We Day California
  • Orlando Bloom – Actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
  • Martin Luther King III – Human Rights advocate and eldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Lauren Miller (@IAmLaurenMiller) – American actress and screenwriter
  • Martin Sheen – Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning actor and activist
  • Hannah Simone  (@HannahSimone) –  actress from the hit TV series New Girl
  • Jesse Giddings (@JesseGiddings) – E! News correspondent and Free The Children ambassador
  • The Tenors (@TenorsMusic) – Award-winning, multi-platinum vocal super group joined by up-and-coming hip hop sensation, Young Stitch (@YoungStitchSS)
  • Craig and Marc Kielburger (@CraigKielburger) – Co-founders of Free The Children
  • Spencer West (@Spencer2thewest) – Me to We inspirational speaker, Free The Children ambassador, author and double amputee who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro
  • Hannah Alper (CallmeHannah.ca) – 11-year-old Me to We inspirational speaker, Free The Children ambassador, blogger and youth activist
  • Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers

What what is this all about?

We Day is part of a family of organizations, including Free The Children and Me to We, that has a shared goal: to empower a generation to shift the world from ‘me’ to ‘we’—through how we act, how we give, the choices we make on what to buy and what to wear, the media we consume and the experiences with which we choose to engage.

Takeaway From WE Day California

It was so great to experience the energy of all these young people working to the benefit of others. Speakers like Spencer West, Clemantine Wamariya, and Selena Gomez delivered moving speeches but we couldn’t hear Orlando Bloom or Seth Rogan over all the teen screaming 🙂 It would have been awesome if Selena Gomez actually performed though.

2014 WE Day California volunteer / charity celebration event with celebrities and motivational speakers #WEDay

Overall, we didn’t really get much out of WE Day California. It seemed more like a series of commercials with some music sprinkled in between. The crowd was loving it though. I guess, for them, coming to the SF Bay Area, seeing some famous people, and being at an exclusive event, was really the icing on the cake for their charitable efforts throughout the year. Getting kids to be more concerned about others than they are themselves is something I’m all for and glad there are programs like these to encourage it.

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14 comments

Colleen April 19, 2014 - 7:45 am

Oh bummer that it felt more like commercials.

Liz Mays April 19, 2014 - 10:18 am

I’m sure the organization does great work, and hopefully for future events they’ll make it seem a little less Hollywood and produced.

Raijean April 19, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Yes, I saw a few of your pictures and wondered where you were! Looks like a great lineup!

Lisa April 19, 2014 - 5:22 pm

Sounds like a fantastic organization and some great people on board. Awesome that you were able to go and share it with others via social media!

HilLesha April 19, 2014 - 7:18 pm

Sounds like a really interesting event!

Ty April 19, 2014 - 9:38 pm

Sounds like an awesome event!

Tammy April 19, 2014 - 9:47 pm

I guess it would be kind of a cool thing to be invited to that if you had worked hard volunteering all year. I hope that some of the presentations were helpful for the kids, and keeps them fueled for volunteer work in the future.

Anne - Mommy Has to Work April 20, 2014 - 6:51 am

Sorry it wasn’t more fun. Like Liz said, hopefully they will learn and make it better next year.

Angela April 20, 2014 - 4:26 pm

I was wondering where you were for the photos. It sounds like an interesting event.

Kathleen B April 20, 2014 - 7:19 pm

What a great line-up and amazing experience. I was hearing about this all over the place, but wasn’t sure what it was all about.

Marcie W. April 21, 2014 - 4:25 pm

Definitely a great lineup of appearances and I really appreciate your honest review of the event. Still fun you got to go and I love encouraging my children to give back!

Paula @ Frosted Fingers April 21, 2014 - 8:07 pm

That’s quite a list of people. Sorry you didn’t get much out of it, though.

Crystal @ Simply Being Mommy.com April 22, 2014 - 11:03 am

Wow, what a lineup. There were many celebrities in attendance.

Donna April 23, 2014 - 8:01 pm

You had me at Orlando Bloom. 😉 I would think it would be pretty exciting to be there in person, though.

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