Charlize Theron Joins WE Day California, World's Largest Youth Empowerment Event, as Honorary Co-Chair

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WE Day, a powerful series of educational events that combine the energy of a live concert with the inspiration of extraordinary stories of leadership and change, announces that Academy® Award-winning actress and Founder of Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, Charlize Theron, will join WE Day California as Honorary Co-Chair on April 7, 2016 at the Forum. In partnership with Co-Title Sponsors, Microsoft Philanthropies, Allstate and Unilever, WE Day California will bring together 16,000 students and educators in an inspirational setting to celebrate the commitment they have made to take action on local and global issues they care about.

"I believe that everyone has the power within themselves to create change, which is why I'm proud to be a part of WE Day California," said Theron. "The WE Day movement helps young leaders break down social barriers to create real solutions to some of the biggest issues we face today. WE Day supports young people around the world, teaching them that they're not alone and that collectively they can make an enormous impact in their own backyards, and in communities around the world."

Alongside Charlize Theron, WE Day is supported in Los Angeles by Southern California founding Co-Chairs Stephanie Argyros, President and CEO, Argyros Group and Jeff Skoll, Founder and Co-Chairman, Participant Media, and Co-Chairman of the Skoll Foundation. WE Day California was launched in 2014 in Oakland, and continued in 2015 in San Jose, supported by Northern California Co-Chairs Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor of California and Jennifer Siebel Newsom, filmmaker and Philanthropist.

"WE Day California provides students in our own backyards with the opportunity to grow as leaders and learn how to make a positive impact within their communities," said Argyros. "I'm excited to be part of a community, alongside Charlize, that is helping to support the positive impacts young people from across California are making in their communities. As a mother I am proud that my children are a part of the WE Day movement—a movement that encourages them to think big and take action on the world's most pressing issues."

WE Day California's move to the Los Angeles area was previously announced in September 2015 when six-time GRAMMY® nominee, author, producer, philanthropist and internationally renowned film star, Tyrese Gibson, made a surprise visit to his former high school, Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy in the neighborhood of Watts, Los Angeles. To officially announcement WE Day California's spring event, Tyrese, alongside WE Day co-founder, Craig Kielburger, shared his experience at WE Day with students in attendance, and encouraged young people from across SoCal to give back to their communities and get involved by taking action on social issues.

"I'm proud to be part of the WE Day movement, to inspire and be inspired by the youth leading the change we need to see," said Gibson. "Every single person at WE Day has done something to make an impact in their own life and in the lives around them; these young people are standing up and saying 'I will be the change for a better tomorrow.'"

Theron and Gibson will be joined on the WE Day California stage by many more world-renowned speakers and performers and remarkable local young people who are making a difference in their communities. The full lineup of WE Day California speakers and performers will be announced on March 16, 2016.

You can't buy a ticket to WE Day—students from across the state will earn their way by taking action on one local and one global cause of their choice through the WE Schools program. The program provides hands-on, student-led campaigns designed to enhance a school's existing social initiatives or to spark new ones. WE Schools help young people turn the day's inspiration into sustained action. Globally, students' participation in WE Schools has already resulted in over $62 million raised for more than 2,500 local and global organizations and 19.9 million hours volunteered.

"We believe that every young person has the power to create and lead real change in the world," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE Day. "Youth across America are making their voices heard—last year alone, more than 224,000 students in California gave back to their communities through acts of service. Annually, 200,000 students coast to coast and around the world, from over 10,000 schools, earn their tickets to WE Day through acts of service that not only create tangible benefits within their own communities and around the world, but also demonstrate positive long-term social impacts for the youth involved."

In California, WE Day and the WE Schools program are free of charge to the tens of thousands of students and teachers in attendance at the event and who participated in the program statewide thanks to the support of partners led by Co-Title Sponsors, Microsoft Philanthropies, Allstate and Unilever. There are currently over 850 schools in California signed up for the WE Schools program.

Students and teachers can learn more about WE Day and WE Schools and how they can get involved and earn a ticket to the world's largest youth empowerment event by visiting www.weday.com/california.

Stay connected on the latest news and updates on WE Day:
#weday
Facebook @WeDay
Twitter @weday
Instagram @weday
Visit our Media Center

To apply for press credentials, visit www.weday.com/press

About WE Day
www.weday.com

About the WE Day Movement
WE Day is the movement of our time—a movement of young people leading local and global change. WE Day celebrates and inspires this generation's shift from me to we—towards acting with intention, leading with compassion, and a belief in the power of community. WE Day is one of the world's largest non-profit initiatives on social media, with more than five million followers. This year alone over 200,000 young people will come together in 14 stadium gatherings across the U.S., Canada and U.K. to take part in this unprecedented educational initiative.

More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to a yearlong free educational program, WE Schools, which provides educational resources and campaigns to help young people turn the day's inspiration into sustained action. WE Day and WE Schools are cause inclusive, empowering young people to find their passion and create the change they want to see. Together WE Day and WE Schools are a blueprint for building the next generation of global change-makers. For more information, please visit www.we.org

About the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project
CTAOP was created in 2007 by Charlize Theron, Academy Award winning actress and UN Messenger of Peace, in an effort to support African youth in the fight against HIV/AIDS. CTAOP's mission is to empower African youth to keep themselves safe from HIV/AIDS. Although the geographic scope of CTAOP is Sub-Saharan Africa, the primary concentration has been Charlize's home country of South Africa, which has the highest number of HIV positive individuals in the world. 

CTAOP is committed to supporting community-based organizations that use innovative programs to address key drivers of the disease. The programs CTAOP supports are holistic, meaning they tackle issues that underlie a young person's vulnerability to the disease such as: gender inequity, poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual abuse, loss of parents, and stigma. Programs aim to reduce behavioral risk factors and support a young person's ability to make healthy decisions and build the futures they want. To learn more visit: www.charlizeafricaoutreach.org

For more information on WE Day or to request an interview, please contact:
Alison Clarke
Director PR & Publicity, WE Day
1-416-706-3652
[email protected]

For WE Day California, please contact:
Sunshine Sachs
Lauren Kelcher Stevenson/Michael Samonte/Alyssa Furnari/Chantal Artur
1-323-822-9300
[email protected]

SOURCE WE Day