We Day Seattle Debuts on March 27; Sparks Opportunities for 15,000 Youth in Washington

By Brad Smith, Executive Vice President, Microsoft

Today, in front of 2,000 students and teachers at Federal Way High School in Washington state, I had the honor of joining Free The Children founder Craig Kielburger and Seattle Seahawks’ Head Coach Pete Carroll to announce We Day Seattle - an exciting new, year-long program at that will educate, engage and empower 15,000 youth in Washington to become involved global citizens.

We Day started in Canada five years ago and the Seattle event will be its first ever in the U.S.

Together, We Day and We Act, the full-year engagement program that provides the tools needed to take action on any number of issues, have mobilized nearly 1.7 million students annually to discover their connection to their communities and make positive changes in their world...

Since 2009 alone, We Day and We Act participants gave an impressive 3.4 million hours of service and raised $20 million dollars for local and global causes.

Microsoft’s support for We Day and We Act is part of our new company-wide initiative, Microsoft YouthSpark, which aims to create new opportunities for 300 million youth around the world over the next three years. Microsoft YouthSpark stems from our deeply-held belief that today’s youth can be the spark of change in our world. It’s a belief we share with Free The Children and one that forms the core of the We Day movement.

So mark your calendars: On March 27, We Day is coming to Key Arena in Seattle, and we hope many students will participate this unique and inspiring program. It’s exciting to imagine the energy and passion that thousands of Puget Sound youth will unleash across the region as a result of this movement, sparking change big and small, here at home and beyond.

For more information on how to get involved in We Day Seattle and to learn more, please visit www.weday.com/seattle.