Islander Middle School Students to Celebrate Service at Star-Studded We Day

Islander Middle School students will learn about getting excited about service and positive approaches to life at the first ever “We Day” in America at KeyArena in Seattle Wednesday.

The event will be streaming live on the Internet at weday.com and q13fox.com.

The youth-empowerment event is a program by the Canadian-based non-profit group Free The Children, founded by Craig Kielburger. We Day events have been going on in Canada for six years. Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll helped bring the event to Seattle.

About 15,000 kids will attend the event--from some 380 schools in more than 100 districts statewide.

Islander Middle School students have many service projects in works, according to We Day organizers:

Islander Middle School has been involved with a variety of service projects this year. In addition to the annual canned food drive for Mercer Island Youth and Family services, a student at Mercer Island has reached out to the neighboring community of Bellevue by organizing a coat drive for children and teens in need. Students also participated in "Hearts for the Homeless,” by writing letters and valentines for homeless youth. Students also showed appreciation for the men and women in the armed forces by writing over 1,000 letters for Veteran’s Day. In an effort to improve their environment, the 6th grade students volunteer for the day with Earth Corps to help restore Pioneer Park on Mercer Island. Last but not least, many students who volunteer their own time after school with organizations such as:  Northwest Harvest, Treehouse, Tent City, Humane Society, Girl and Boy Scouts, National Charity League, as well as raise money for other causes both local and global.

The event lineup, which is co-title sponsored by Microsoft and Amway, includes:

• Actress and singer Jennifer Hudson
• NBA legend Magic Johnson
• Actor Martin Sheen
• Actress Mia Farrow
• Grammy award-winning musician Nellie Furtado
• Former Seattle Supersonic star Gary Payton
• The Seahawks' promising young quarterback Russell Wilson and fellow players Richard Sherman and Russell Okung
• Washington Gov. Jay Inslee
• Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn

Are you participating in the event? Tell us your activities, or your Twitter handle, in the comments below.