Thousands of young people in Nottinghamshire Make a Difference

The WE Schools programme, run by WE, an organisation that brings people together and gives them the tools to change the world, challenges young people to identify the local and global issues that spark their passion to take action.

Young people were empowered through sessions hosted by an inspirational speaker and facilitator from WE and supported by Boots UK to make a difference to important issues at school, in their local community and for people across the world.

Through the pilot programme with Boots UK, they have been writing letters on air pollution to their local MPs, raising awareness of the need for clean water, fundraising for those living in poverty, litter picking in the local community, making their schools more autism-aware, and more.

Their inspiring work was celebrated today at WE’s signature youth empowerment event, WE Day, where around 200 of Nottinghamshire’s school children had ‘earned’ their tickets to join the audience of 12,000 students and teachers from across the UK at The SSE Arena, Wembley. The children listened to unforgettable performances from The Vamps, Jessie J and Fleur East, and listened to international activists and motivational speakers to inspire another year of change.

At WE Day UK, the efforts of Kiera and Alyssa, pupils from East Leake Academy were particularly recognised when they joined two inspirational leaders from presenting partner, Boots UK on the stage - Ornella Barra, Co-Chief Operating Officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance and Nathan Clements, HR Director at Boots UK.

Kiera, age 11, who is a year 7 pupil at East Leake Academy said: “We believe in taking action on the issue of mental health. Mental health is an issue that all too often gets brushed under the carpet, and not addressed as a “real” health issue. So it is our goal to change the conversation, and let everyone know how real the issue is, and how important it is to take it seriously and help others in need. We put posters up around the school which gave tips on how to help if you know someone with mental health issues, and we held an assembly for our year 7 class.”

Kiera and Alyssa received a surprise on stage too when Nathan and Ornella presented East Leake Academy with a cheque for £1,000 to help the school continue their work to improve awareness and education on mental health.

 

Nathan Clements, HR Director at Boots UK, comments: “It’s great to see strong and empowered young people taking the lead to create change in their communities. We were thrilled to be a presenting partner at WE Day UK as we believe that we must all work together to raise awareness of important issues. We aim our efforts at empowering young people to be more confident in the role they play and at improving the quality of life for people at home and around the world.”

Over 100 volunteers from Boots UK stores and its Nottingham Support Office also travelled to The SSE Arena Wembley today to help make the event a success.

Here are some more of our pictures from WE Day: