16K charitable students come together for 'WE Day' in Inglewood

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Thousands of charitable students and educators came together for "WE Day" on Thursday to learn, get inspired and rock out together.

Powerhouse voices like Alicia Keys and Alessia Cara performed at The Forum in Inglewood for 16,000 students from all over California. The event was created by the WE organization to celebrate everyday heroes.

Actress and singer Selena Gomez hosted the day-long, star-studded celebration.

Craig Kielburger launched WE, formerly known as "Free the Children," when he was 12.

"I read a story about child labor. It made me so upset, I wanted to help. I gathered a group of friends but we couldn't find an organization that would help support us, as young people, to make a difference. So, 20-plus years later, we built what we wish we had as kids," Kielburger said.

Students earned their tickets by taking action on one local and one global issue.

Jake Tran, 13, of Fountain Valley, joined classmates for beach clean-ups, a food drive and a fundraiser for cancer research. Tran heard from motivational speakers like 11-year-old athlete Ezra Frech, who was born missing his left fibula, knee and four fingers.

Since 2007, students involved with WE have raised $79 million for thousands of organizations, a rewarding result for the WE founders.

"That's what the WE movement is all about. It's parents out there, teachers and kids who just need a little bit of help to take action," Kielburger shared.

For more information, visit we.org. "WE Day" airs on ABC this summer.