Over eighty million people all over the world have watched the YouTube clip STOP KONY 2012 by Invisible Children. It made a lot of people open their eyes and see how the real world is. The Invisible Children has been working for nine years to stop Africa’s longest-running armed conflict.
David Albers, Fatima Calmese, and Ellen Meystedt are three students who felt like they had to do something to help.
“After watching the video, I didn’t feel like I could just sit back and do nothing. Every penny we earn can go on to the organization and help all those kids get their freedom back,” Ellen said.
They talked to each other and agreed that they had to do something. Albers made a Facebook group. They had a meeting to discuss fundraisers like a bake sale. A lot of students got interested and wanted to help with baking. There’s been a bake sale all last week and it’s still going on. They’ve earned a lot of money. Half of the money will be saved for later events, and the rest they will give to Invisible Children.
The Boston CBS news website reported how the money that Invisible children earned was spent:”According to their financial statements, 20% is spent on management expenses and overhead. Last year $1.7 million were spent on travel, $3. 8 million were used for the film; advocacy and spreading their message and $3.3 million went to programs in Central Africa.”
The bake sale is just one of the fundraiser, and they’ve discussed other ways to earn money. This summer Albers plans to organize a dodgeball tournament. They are also going to sell wristbands.
On April 20th, they will hold “cover the night” event. They are meeting at Lincoln Square that night, and will put up two different kinds of posters around town to raise awareness to the Invisible Children.
What Meystedt, Albers, and Calmese are doing have got a lot of criticism, especially after the filmmaker and creator of Kony 2011, Jason Russell got arrested. Jason has now resigned from the organization.
“It’s a shame that it happened; he helped start something great. However, our efforts, as well as those of many others, are not affiliated with him other than our main goal. We will not let this affect what we have planned, “Albers said.
It’s still a lot of students who are helping and being supportive, especially with the bake sale.
“There are people who don’t know the entire story; there are people who know and don’t agree with what we’re doing; and there are those who agree and fully support us,” Calmese said.