text: Schools-for-Schools raises social awareness – Knight Errant
  Schools-for-Schools raises social awareness
  Guilia Imholte
  In light of a recent visit by the Invisible Children non-profit organization, three seniors, Nettie Sparkman, Caroline McMahon, and Colleen Little, were inspired to be the student leaders of a new fundraising club called Schools-for-Schools. The point of this club is to raise money for a chosen sister-school in Uganda.
  Invisible Children focuses on raising money and awareness for the survivors of the recent genocide and the abducted child soldiers in Uganda. Specifically, Schools-for-Schools raises money to construct and remodel schools where the surviving children attend.
  The first meeting for the club, held after school following a video presentation by Invisible Children, gave a brief overview of the Schools-for-Schools program and asked for students interested in a leadership role to sign up. "At that point we kind of took charge. We stayed after the meeting and talked to the teachers and the guy from Invisible Children," said Sparkman.
  Since that meeting on Oct. 19, the three girls have made serious headway with the club. In order to communicate with everyone who showed interest, a Facebook group was formed to share fundraising ideas and notify students of upcoming meetings and events. "The Facebook group we did just because it's the easiest way to communicate with everyone and organize ideas," said Little.
  There have been some roadblocks concerning fundraising though. "We can't do much fundraising at school because the administration doesn't want us asking parents for money when they already donate a lot. So we've been trying to figure out things to do outside of school that still include people from school," said McMahon.
  However, the success of the recent common basket has definitely provided a substantial start point for future endeavors. "The common basket worked out really well considering we raised $1,750," said McMahon.
  Future fundraising plans include Schools-for-Schools t-shirts and organizing a specific day where proceeds from food bought at a nearby Chipotle would benefit the club. "They're really nice, and a lot of sports teams and clubs have done stuff through that Chipotle as well. But, people can also go online and donate," said Sparkman.
  The fast approaching fundraising deadline for Schools-for-Schools is Dec. 17. If, by that date, BSM has raised $5,000, two students will get the opportunity to travel to San Diego, California for an Invisible Children Summit; if, however, BSM has raised $20,000, an estimated group of 10 students will get the chance to journey to Uganda on a mission trip.
  So far, Schools-for-Schools is off to a very strong start. "We're going to try and keep raising money after the deadline. But, hopefully, whoever continues it next year will get it started earlier and hopefully exceed what we accomplish," said McMahon.