Youth can change the world for the better. That’s what Clayton Heights Secondary student Laura Kim says she has learned after winning $10,000 for the charity of her choice from a TELUS contest on We365 – a free mobile app and website developed by TELUS and Free The Children that enables young people to find and share inspiring content with like-minded users and friends, all while supporting causes most important to them.
Kim and two of her classmates were recently at the BC SPCA’s provincial office in Vancouver to tour the Vancouver shelter and to present a $10,000 bone-shaped cheque to BC SPCA CEO Craig Daniell.
“I went to We Day Vancouver (in 2013) and signed up for the We365 app because it seemed like a great way to connect with like-minded people,” Kim says, noting that she and her classmates Rajan Samra and Ryan Furby are the executive of their school’s social awareness club, Project Equal.
This year’s cause for the group to support was the BC SPCA. Kim found out she won the TELUS contest while at an airport in Toronto, on her way back from an Ecuador trip on spring break, where she helped build a school.
“When I found out I won, I freaked out. I love animals like crazy and I hate thinking of them being mistreated or hurt.”
An initiative of Free The Children, We Day is taking the philanthropic world by storm with events across Canada (including Vancouver), in the U.S. and U.K. and is one of the world’s largest registered charities on Facebook with 3.8 million followers.
This year alone, more than 180,000 young people came together in stadium gatherings to take part in this unprecedented educational initiative that encourages students to lead local and global change. TELUS and Free The Children teamed up to create We365, a social platform that helps youth change the world every day. Building off the inspiration of We Day, We365 connects users to challenges, social causes and volunteer tracking, helping make their communities stronger both at home and abroad.
“The key to keeping our communities healthy in the future is ensuring the youth of today are engaged, inspired and educated to positively contribute to their community,” says Katie Griffiths, senior program manager at TELUS.
“At TELUS we want to ensure that youth are educated and inspired to give back so that the leaders of tomorrow are ones who are socially aware. Youth like Laura continually amaze us with the passion they have for giving back, and We365 enables them to act upon their desire to make a difference and give where they live.”
BC SPCA CEO Craig Daniell agrees.
“Today’s youth absolutely have the power to create positive change. I think it’s fantastic,” he says. “A gift like this makes such a difference for us. It will help so many of our province’s most vulnerable animals get the care they need. We are so grateful to Laura. She’s made a huge difference.”
The We365 app is available for free download through Blackberry World, Google Play or Apple App Store. Users can also sign up at www.we365.com
