Curtis Junior High Students Head to 'We Day' to Recognize Community Service

Students in the Curtis Junior High ASB/Leadership group are among the thousands of young people expected at We Day in Seattle on Wednesday for a star-studded program.

The youth-empowerment event is a program by the Canadian-based nonprofit group Free The Children, founded by Craig Kielburger when he was just a kid himself. It is designed to show kids positive approaches to life and ways to set themselves free by helping others.

The KeyArena event Wednesday, which runs from 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., will be streamed live at http://www.weday.com/ starting at 9:15 a.m.

The 15,000 kids who will attend the event--from some 380 schools in more than 100 districts statewide--have already been selected, based on their own service work for both local and global causes. They include the University Place students.

The Curtis Junior High ASB/Leadership group has raised an average of $700 a year over the last three years for a local breast cancer foundation. They have supported relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Sandy by raising $900 for the Red Cross. They also raised a yearly average of $611 in the last 8 years through Candy Cane Grams for the local food bank. In January, they raised $906 in pennies for the Pennies for Patient’s fundraiser. They organized B.E.A.R. (Be Excited About Reading), where each class dressed a toy bear as a favorite children’s book/comic book/fairy tale character. They are then donated to Helping Hands House of Tacoma for children in need.

Students, how do you perform service to your community? Adults, how can we inspire youth to give back to their communities? Tell us in the comments.