WE Day is a one-day event that celebrates service. It is organized annually by Free the Children, an organization founded by Craig Kielburger at the young age of 12 in 1995. Kielburger was joined by his brother Marc in establishing and finalizing an organization that would go on to change the world and continues to change the world to this day.

WE Day is funded through donations that are given by organizations and individuals who support Free the Children. No one can buy a ticket to WE Day: everyone who attends earns their ticket, through one local and one global service action.

Around 18,000 people, mostly students from the Twin Cities area, joined together at WE Day. The event also inspires them to do more. With many inspirational speakers and well-known musical performers, students and educators who are involved in service are rewarded with a day of fun and innovation.

This year, two of the inspirational speakers were Abbie Nelson ‘18 and Pia Phillips ‘18, who spoke about their organization PAB’s PACKS. The duo was approached by WE Day to serve as local inspirational speakers. “We never thought they would want someone as little as us, but they said sometimes that’s more impactful because it shows that anyone in the audience [of high school students] can start something and make a difference,” says Nelson.

PAB’S PACKS, founded by the two best friends and Nelson’s mom, Martha Dayton, is “a non-profit organization that provides backpacks with comfort items to chronically ill teens in hospitals,” Phillips explains.

The organization was inspired by Phillips’s and Nelson’s prior experiences in the hospital. Phillips was diagnosed with stage IIA Hodgkin’s lymphoma just over a year ago and, as a result, went through chemotherapy. Nelson battles type 1 diabetes, causing her to make frequent hospital visits.

During their stays at the hospital, the two noticed that some kids across the hall had few visitors and comfort gifts, something that they realized they were lucky enough to have.

They decided they wanted to take action and do something about it, prompting the creation of PAB’S PACKS.

WE Day was the perfect opportunity for the duo to express their success and motivate others to make a change. Nelson shares her thoughts on WE Day, saying, “I was skeptical going into the day. Like, if you saw the [Mr.] Gazette article, people have strong views about it, thinking that a lot of people who go don’t do service but after the whole day I retook a look at it and it was just really amazing things that help – like most of the kids there are [experiencing] their first concert. It’s the first time they’ve ever been in a room with someone this famous, and it’s just a really inspirational day and it shows that the service they’re doing actually makes a difference and it shows if they keep working at it they can be like some of those people that are making a huge difference.”

Motivation to continue working hard on their non-profit is easy, given the rewards. Phillips says she loves “seeing the kids’ faces light up when they receive a backpack.”