Innovative Service-Learning Program, WE Schools, launches in Baltimore

BALTIMORE, Feb. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the WE organization is excited to announce that WE Schools, a free service-learning program, is coming to Baltimore. An innovative program, grounded in the fundamentals of education and civic engagement, WE Schools is redefining the educational approach to service-learning with a year-round program that challenges young people to learn about social issues and empowers them with the tools to take action on causes that matter to them. Designed to enhance a school's existing social initiatives and spark passion in future change makers, WE Schools reminds everyone what classrooms are supposed to be: vibrant, bubbling incubators that inspire tomorrow's best leaders.

With curriculum and projects designed to engage young people into action, WE Schools focuses on local and global issues that affect their daily lives, such as hunger, homelessness, bullying, human rights, and more. The free program will support Baltimore students as they gain an understanding of the root causes of pressing social issues and provide them with the tools needed to take direct action within their own community. WE Schools is part of WE, an organization that brings people together and gives them the tools to change the world.

To celebrate the launch of WE Schools in Baltimore, WE co-founder, Craig Kielburger, will join more than 500 students at City Neighbors High School (5609 Sefton Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21214) from 9:30 to 10:30 AM on Thursday, February 16, 2017. At the event students will learn about WE Schools and hear motivating speeches from Craig Kielburger, special guest, American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality, Paula Abdul and more. Students and educators will come together to learn about how young people have the power to transform their lives and make a positive impact in their community through service learning.

"We are excited that students across Baltimore will be joining the 2 million young people worldwide who are engaged in WE Schools and who have experienced the positive impacts of the program," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. "WE Schools gives young people a better connection to their local community and are 2.5 times more likely to have a long term commitment to a social cause than their peers. We look forward to working alongside Baltimore schools to bring this program to classrooms, inspiring the young people of Baltimore to engage in the issues directly affecting their community."

More than 12,300 schools across the United States, Canada and the U.K have already experienced the power of WE Schools. WE Schools reignites the fundamental purpose of education, inspiring students to learn by preparing them with the life skills to better their communities and the world by empowering them to forge their own paths to success. WE Schools has been working in America since 1999 and to date has seen over 3,500 groups in the WE Schools network across America experience the positive impacts of the program.

"Service-Learning has an incredible effect on students because it helps put curricular learning into perspective, and gives young people the opportunity to step up as leaders," said Dr. Jonathan White, Director, Bentley Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center; Professor of Sociology, Bentley University and Chair of WE Charity's Board of Directors. "WE Schools is an educational program that adds energy to the classroom and empowers students to find their voice by challenging them to discover their passion and turn it into positive action for their community."

Studies of WE Schools participants shows the powerful impact the program has in students' lives,

• A global movement of 2.4 million young people, youth involved with WE have achieved remarkable results:
  • 27.6 million hours volunteered for local and global causes;
  • 9.8 million pounds of food collected by youth for local food banks;
  • $79 million raised for more than 6,500 local and global organizations.
• A 2015 study of current and former WE Schools participants found:
  • Students were 2.3 times more likely to use their professional skills to solve social problems;
  • 1.2 times more likely to report they had voted in the prior election than their non-participant peers.

WE Schools resources are created to align with U.S. Common Core curricular standards and are always evolving to ensure materials are fresh and relevant. WE Schools follows the best practices and aligns with Maryland State Standards service-learning requirements and resources can be used to meet service-learning graduation requirements and community needs.

All registered WE Schools are provided a WE Schools Coordinator that offers educators one-on-one support and advice on resources, action planning, and service campaigns. WE Schools also offers educators professional development opportunities and provides students with further mentorship programs and activities, such as motivational speaking tours and focussed action planning sessions.

To celebrate the change that students create, young people involved in WE Schools can earn a ticket to WE Day—an inspiring stadium-sized life-changing event that takes place in 14 cities around the world. WE Day unites world-renowned speakers, presenters and award-winning performers with thousands of young people and families to celebrate and inspire incredible change. Young people earn their ticket to WE Day by taking action on one local and one global cause. The WE organization looks forward to working with schools across Baltimore and engaging young people with the WE Schools program, with the goal of bringing WE Day to Maryland in the coming years.

Educators can sign up for WE Schools by going to WE.org/weschools. With access to the free curriculum and campaign resources, educators will have the tools to inspire their students to start taking action on the issues they are most passionate about.

Visit WE.org for more information.

About WE
WE is an organization that brings people together and gives them the tools to change the world. A unique family of organizations, WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering change with resources that create sustainable impact, and ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences that allow people to do good through their everyday choices. The celebration of that change happens at WE Day - inspiring stadium-sized life-changing events that take place around the world. A global movement of 2.4 million young people strong, youth involved with WE have raised $62 million for more than 2,400 local and global organizations, volunteered 19.9 million hours for local and global causes and collected over 7.6 million pounds of food through service learning programs and campaigns. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by humanitarians, activists and social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the WE movement today at www.we.org.

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Katryna Szagala
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https://www.we.org