Empower Children With Roar For Change

Are you celebrating STAR WARS DAY? I am… and I’m doing it for a good cause!

Now that I have your attention and curiosity, let me explain. I visited the Disney Creative Campus with other Disney Bloggers and we learned about Star Wars: Force for Change, a charitable initiative from Lucasfilm and Disney, harnesses the strength of Star Wars to empower and improve the lives of children around the world. 

You know I was raised in extreme poverty, so this cause is really close to my heart. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve the goodness and generosity of “strangers.”

Star Wars: Force for Change started in 2014, inspired by Star Wars fans. To date, over $16 million has been raised for charitable causes around the world on behalf of Star Wars: Force for Change.

Star Wars: Force for Change aims to continue collaborating with causes and encouraging others to be forces for change in their own community, so today I want to encourage you to join me in a global challenge in support of UNICEF called Roar For Change.

As an adult, I used to be a UNICEF volunteer in the Dominican Republic because I believe in their mission and the good they do in the world. The initiative  Roar For Change invites fans and families to share their own version of Chewbacca’s iconic roar on social media. For each public post, like, or share on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter that includes #RoarForChange between May 3 – 25, 2018, Star Wars: Force for Change U.S. will donate $1 to UNICEF USA, up to $1 million. Funds will be used to support UNICEF’s lifesaving work for children around the world, of which I can count myself a humble and grateful recipient.

“Chewbacca may not always have the best temperament but beneath the gruff exterior is a heart of gold,” says SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY director Ron Howard in the launch video. “That’s why he’s challenging you to Roar for Change.”

This cool kick off video for Roar for Change features the cast of SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY and reveals Chewbacca’s diva behavior on the set of the new STAR WARS movie!

Nearly one in four children worldwide are severely malnourished. UNICEF is working in 190 countries and territories to defend children’s rights and, among other issues, help address malnutrition. On behalf of Star Wars: Force for Change, funds unlocked through this campaign will help UNICEF to provide Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic Food packets to children suffering from malnutrition, helping them to have a chance at a brighter future.

I can’t think of this without crying because I know what it’s like to fetch water and do your chores while hungry or to want to do your best a school but not be able to focus because you are just so week and hungry, or what’s worse, sick. And I can count myself blessed because many kids can’t even dream about going to school.

“We are thrilled to team up with Star Wars: Force for Change and Chewbacca to help improve the lives of malnourished children around the world. It’s incredible to see Star Wars fans rally around the spirit of Chewbacca and UNICEF’s lifesaving mission. Together, we can protect all that is good in a galaxy not so far away,” said Rajesh Anandan, Senior Vice President of UNICEF Ventures, UNICEF USA.

I love Chewbacca and I’m excited that I partnered with American Tourister to receive a Star Wars Hardside Spinner 2 to represent our favorite Wookie and prepare for the #RoarForChange challenge and for the SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY red carpet premiere!

I encourage you to share your best Chewbacca impersonation, do a voice-changing Hasbro’s Electronic Chewbacca mask, or create a Dubsmash using one of Chewbacca’s best-known roars from the Star Wars saga, which will be hosted on the app’s homepage for the duration of the campaign.

 

 

A post shared by Elayna Fernandez (@thepositivemom) on May 4, 2018 at 2:36pm PDT

A perk you will enjoy is that fans that roar and post on social media in Disney store locations nationwide using #RoarForChange will receive 10% off their Star Wars purchase. A great way to celebrate STAR WARS DAY – May The 4th Be With YOU!

Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Paul Bettany. in all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.

Remember that SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY opens in theaters everywhere on May 25th! You can follow the latest updates by visiting the official SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY site, following STAR WARS on Instagram, following STAR WARS on Twitter,  and liking STAR WARS on Facebook.

Make sure you follow the conversation along with #HanSolo and #HanSoloEvent and Learn more about the Roar For Change campaign at ForceForChange.com and use the hashtags #RoarForChange #RugirParaMudar #RugePorElCambio.

Elayna is a single mom of 4, award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 4x TEDx speaker. Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results, so you can have the wealth, opportunities, and freedom you deserve. Connect with Elayna Fernández at thepositivemom.com/keynote-speaker and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.

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