Addison Trail students participate in WE Day to celebrate making a difference in their local and global communities

On April 28, 11 Addison Trail students participated in WE Day, a celebration of youth making a difference in their local and global communities. According to www.we.org, WE Schools is the yearlong program that nurtures compassion in young people and gives them the tools to create transformative social change.

The celebration took place at Allstate Arena and featured live performances by Jordan Smith (past winner of “The Voice”), Ciara and more. Participants also heard from motivational speakers, who discussed the need to be a voice and the importance of empowering youth. Speakers included actor Henry Winkler (from “Happy Days”), singer/songwriter Paula Abdul, J.R. Martinez (a U.S. Army veteran, actor, motivational speaker and past champion of "Dancing with the Stars") and more.

To be eligible to participate in WE Day, the Addison Trail students had to commit to one local and one global action. For their local action, the students, along with other members of the Addison Trail Theatre, volunteered at Marklund Philip Center in Bloomingdale to help with the center’s holiday play. The students also sold ME to WE Rafikis for their global action, which are bracelets made by women in Kenya, empowering them to earn a living and create a better future for their family and community. Every Rafiki also gives back, by donating to a community overseas through a life-changing impact such as clean water or school supplies.

The Addison Trail students who participated in WE Day are past and present Theatre Board members junior Ryan Cabildo, sophomore Nina Caliendo, senior Courtney Cechini, sophomore Danielle Cusumano, junior Olivia Czerepko, freshman Claudia Czerepko, sophomore Madeline Danhouser, junior Victor Jaimes, junior Alec Montgomery, senior Heidi Scheleski and junior Sevina Topalska. They attended the event with Addison Trail Theatre Tech Assistant Alex Holod, Addison Trail social studies teacher and Theatre Choreographer LeVonne Cescolini-Boyer and Addison Trail Theatre Director Anna Jakubka.

For more information about the program, go to www.we.org.