At "We Day" Governor to thank young people for volunteering, making the world a better place

ST. PAUL, MN - Today at the Xcel Energy Center, Governor Mark Dayton will congratulate and encourage a crowd of 18,000 Minnesota students and teachers from over 400 Minnesota schools and community groups who have made a commitment to service and volunteerism. Every student attending the "We Day" event in St. Paul has earned their ticket to participate through acts of service and a commitment to making the world a better place.

Governor Dayton will be joined at "We Day" - a day-long event and a movement of young people leading local and global change - by the Jonas Brothers, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Jack Jablonski, Martin Luther King III, Fifth Harmony, Mia Farrow, Carly Rae Jepsen, and others for a celebration of service. The event begins at 9:30am. Governor Dayton will speak at 9:55am. The event will be streamed live at www.wcco.com/weday and www.weday.com. Members of the press are encouraged to attend, and can pre-register at www.weday.com/press.

As part of today's events, Governor Dayton will proclaim Tuesday, October 8, 2013, as "We Day" in Minnesota. A copy of the Governor's proclamation /governor/assets/2013_10_04_we_day_minnesota_tcm1055-93019.pdfis available here.

About We Day
We Day is a stadium-sized educational event and a movement of young people leading local and global change. We Day is tied to the year-long program, We Act, which supports students and teachers with free educational resources, student-led campaigns and support materials to help turn the event's inspiration into sustained action. Since 2007, youth involved in the We Act program have raised $37 million for over 1,000 local and global causes, and logged more than 9.6 million volunteer hours.

Other Speakers Participating in We Day
In addition to Governor Dayton (@GovMarkDayton), Minnesota students, teachers, and supporters participating in tomorrow's We Day event will be inspired by speakers and award-winning performers, including:

• Brenda Cassellius (@BCassellius) - Commissioner of Education, Minnesota
• Chris Coleman (@mayorcoleman) - Mayor of St. Paul
• Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan (@QueenNoor)
• Jonas Brothers (@jonasbrothers) - GRAMMY-nominated, multi-platinum artists
• Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen) - GRAMMY-nominated, multi-platinum singer-songwriter
• Fifth Harmony (@FifthHarmony) - America's first teen girl group
• Debby Ryan (@DebbyRyan) - Disney Channel actress and musician
• Bridgit Mendler (@bridgitmendler) - Platinum selling artist and star of Disney's Good Luck Charlie
• Barbara Pierce Bush - Humanitarian, Co-founder and President, Global Health Corps and daughter of Former U.S. President George W. Bush
• Jesse Giddings (@JesseGiddings) - E! News correspondent and Free the Children ambassador
• Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) - Award-winning singer-songwriter and Free the Children ambassador, joining via Skype for an important message
• Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) - NFL football players
• Martin Luther King III - Human Rights advocate and eldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) - Award-winning actress, activists ant United Nations ambassador
• The Tenors (@TenorsMusic) - Juno Award-winning, multi-platinum singers
• Katie Garfield (@KatieGarfield) - Singer-songwriter and actress
• Dessa (@dessadarling) - Doomtree Records recording artist, rapper, singer, poet, and essayist
• Jack Jablonski (@Jabs_13) - Local Benilde-St. Margaret's teen who suffered a spinal cord injury during a hockey game
• Michelle Bergh - Miss Minnesota Pre-Teen
• We Day Minnesota co-chairs and siblings Hutton Phillips and Dean Phillips, who also serve as Chairman of Talenti Gelato and Co-Chair of the Edward J. Phillips Family Foundation
• Kenyan Boys Choir (@BoysChoirKenya) - Traditional African male choir, who sang at the 2009 inauguration of President Obama
• Marissa Mohammed - Youth speaker from the Banyan Community Center
• Native Pride Arts - Indigenous youth performers whose mission is to education, inspire, motivate, and empower diverse communities
• Craig and Marc Kielburger (@CraigKielburger) International activists and co-founders of Free the Children
• Spencer West (@spencer2thewest) - Me to We inspirational speaker, Free the Children ambassador, author and double amputee who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro on his hands and in his wheelchair in June 2012
• Molly Burke (@mollymetowe) - Visually impaired Me to We motivational speaker who speaks out against bullying and the power of hope
• Youth speakers Siddarth Paari and Hanna Alper
• Robin Wiszowaty (@robininkenya) - Me to We motivational speaker, author, and Free the Children Program Director in Ghana and Kenya
• Chris Tse - Me to We inspirational speaker, national spoken word champion and humanitarian