This is the hardcore look of a crowd pumper. A team of 280 out of 700 volunteers at We Day.

Lessons learned from We Day:
Peanut butter never tastes good on olive flavoured bed.
Noise canceling headsets are never flattering.
CTV cameras will avoid you and your awkward headset at all costs.
Your closest friends can surprise you.

This has been my third year leading crowd pumping at We Day. I’ve been to We Days in both Vancouver and Toronto, I’ve pulled the sleepless We Day prep nights many times, and I’ve been hanging out behind the scenes for a long time. This year surprised me.

The surprise was my friends. Not a lot of my friends see what I do with Free The Children and Me to We. The worlds don’t usually mix. This year, they did. Many of my friends and Totem Park residents signed up to crowd pump and had the experience of having me as their staff lead. My golly, the passion and enthusiasm they showed in their outfits and energy stunned me. It’s awkward leaving residence at 5 in the morning in neon spandex, I know, and they not only did it but enjoyed themselves.

It’s so moving to have people walk up to you in residence and thank you for getting them involved in We Day. It’s so powerful to hear people tell you that the speech they heard made a difference in their life. It’s so wonderful to hear that someone got to meet Al Gore or shake Jesse Jackson’s hand. It’s absolutely inspiring to see the ripple effects that has happened since I first demonstrated the We Day dance to Vancouver.

Let’s back up here, since I first demonstrated the We Day dance to Vancouver?

You might recall a video of all the Totem Park advisors doing the We Day dance back in August. Since then, Place Vanier and UBC REC has learnt the dance too. For the last month and a half, I have been working on crowd pumping dance rehearsals and encouraging people here in the west to volunteer for Vancouver We Day. Slowly, the numbers went from 75 to 280 crowd pumpers signed up and attending practices.

It all started with a dance in my friend’s dorm room. Then, bringing it to my advising team. Then, flash mobbing the residence advisor orientation talent show with my team and Granville Island with the MOB. Then, running crowd pumping rehearsals and getting Totem Park involved. Now, inviting my friend Michel Chikwanine to hang out with residents in Totem and share his story while he’s here in Vancouver. It keeps going. Next week, we’ll have a Me to We workshop in the Haida House lounge. Next month, the Global Citizenship Committee will be bringing the Vow of Silence to Totem Park.

It all started with me showing Mark the We Day dance in his bedroom, a bbm from Jobin asking me to work for Me to We, and the best neon spandex wearing friends a girl could ask for. Look at how far we’ve come.