OREANDA-NEWS. What do you call an arena packed with civic-minded young people and more than 600 volunteers united in a mission to make the world a better place?

Call it the first-ever We Day Saskatchewan– a stadium-sized party with a purpose.

“We’re thrilled to help bring We Day to our home province,” said PotashCorp President and CEO Bill Doyle of the star-studded, rafter-rattling event that took place on February 27 at Saskatoon’s Credit Union Center. “It’s one way to show that we support our young people and encourage them to embrace a life of service."

Brought to Saskatchewan by PotashCorp as part of its multi-year partnership with acclaimed international charity Free the Children, the all-day event – which took a team of planners nearly eight months to design and prepare – aimed to stoke the fires of inspiration in each of the venue’s 15,000 onlookers. Early reviews suggest that mission was accomplished.

“We Day is awesome,” said Tara Nicholson, a 16-year-old student from Davidson, SK. “Just hearing these stories has really motivated me to do what I can to change the world.”

Featuring rousing speeches by Martin Sheen and Mia Farrow, a dramatic “Roots for the Future” shadow dance, an interactive Twitter station and performances by pop-punk band Hedley and others, the event helped show young people of the prairie province the power of collective action.

“Young people coming together to lead global change is the movement of our time,” explained Free the Children co-founder Craig Kielburger, who along with brother Marc worked the crowd into a feel-good frenzy with his inspiring stories and vision. “We Day is the manifestation of that movement.”

The movement is well underway in Saskatchewan: since admission to We Day must be earned through volunteer service, more than 300 schools have already participated in Free the Children’s “We Act” programs since the Saskatchewan event was announced in mid-2012. From actions that highlight Aboriginal issues to penny drives that support foster care in Haiti to a unique bicycle recycling program that donates reclaimed two-wheelers to those in need, many young people in Saskatchewan have already embraced their power to be the change they want to see in the world.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my students,” said Maria Olsten, an art teacher whose classes produced postcards and wrote songs to gain their We Day entry. “The energy they show, the way their faces light up when they’re working – it’s just incredible.”

Even more opportunities will come to students as partnership plans continue to roll out: as part of the PotashCorp-sponsored Agriculture and Food Security Pillar – added to Free the Children’s Adopt-a-Village development model last year – 25 students will receive volunteer trips to Kenya to help a Free the Children community. The partnership has also produced curriculum materials focused on food security as part of the pillar that will be used by Canadian educators to inspire creative solutions to food problems in the coming year.

“Our partnership with Free the Children complements our goal to educate people about agriculture and food security around the world," said Rhonda Speiss, PotashCorp’s Manager of Philanthropy. “We Day is only the beginning.”

For now, students will go home on a We Day high and imagine ways to turn their energy and imagination into actions that make life better for others.

“We Day celebrates the power of young people to create positive change,” said Kielburger. “We can’t wait to see how the young people of Saskatchewan will bring that change into the world.”