The Refuge Project

Raising $30,000 as high-school students is no small feat. But that’s exactly what the students of Aliso Niguel accomplished in the Spring of ‘07 when they created The Refuge Project. T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, jackets; you name it, they had it. It led to a flurry of sales throughout their high-school and it directly affected the schools of northern Uganda. How did that happen you ask? Because of their dedication to the Schools for Schools program. They worked tirelessly to create these funds and on the last day, they drove down to our offices and hand delivered that check, knowing that it would be helping their peers in Uganda receive an education.

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Peace and Conflict Update #8

That’s right. #8 is up and ready to be read on our website. I’ll make it easy for you by pointing you here.

Schools for Schools is wrapping up

With 2 days left, Schools for Schools is finishing up another successful campaign for the schools of northern Uganda. Over $1,000,000 has been raised and money continues to roll in from 16,583 students across the nation, as Friday night’s 11:59 pm PST deadline approaches.

Recently, the 4th, 5th & 6th graders of Ben Franklin School have been working hard creating a variety of artwork for sale in their community. Their hard work has raised $1600 for Sir Samuel Baker Secondary School. A breakdown of what they’ve been up to and how they got involved with IC is detailed in today’s edition of Pittsburgh’s Herald Standard.

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Your Stories – Take 2

As we all know, Schools for Schools is in the final days. And as the clock is counting down, some of S4S’ top members are getting face time with local media. We’re so inspired by everything you guys are doing that we wanted to share some of the cool stories with you. Check ‘em out below:

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Peace and Conflict Update

Here are a few of the headlines waiting to be read in our latest Peace and Conflict Update.

• Kony Fires Peace Negotiators
• Kony Speaks Out About Otti’s Death
• Kenyan Unrest Continues

Congratulations to War/Dance!

At 5:30 this morning, War/Dance was announced as a nominee for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards. Kind of a big deal, right? Back in November, we wrote an entry highlighting the film, with a link to an interview with the filmmakers. To break it down for you: the film follows three children living in a northern Ugandan IDP camp, going against the odds to compete with 20,000 other schools in Uganda’s National Music Competition. IC’s Country Director, Okot Jolly Grace, is featured in part of the film as well.

Best of luck to War/Dance in their race for an Oscar!

Avril Bandaids Pt. 2

Documented in our first edition of IC in the Blogosphere, the Avril Bandaids host the ‘Best Damn Avril Lavigne Fansite’ and are longtime supporters of Invisible Children with their online fundraisers.

Recently, Jason Russell, IC filmmaker and founder, took the time to call the Bandaid promo squad director and sing his own rendition of “Complicated.” Read her talk about it here.

A Graduation to Remember

It’s a new year and things are already busy at the IC office in Gulu. We have big plans and big events to unveil in 2008 – things that we can’t wait to talk about – but before we get into all of that, we wanted to take a moment to highlight an important event that took place in December – a graduation ceremony for some of our bracelet makers.

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Sip, Lounge, Pay a School Fee

As Jamie Roach was touring the East Coast last Spring on IC’s National Tour, little did he know that his morning coffee was a preparation for what was to come over the next year. After 6 months in Gulu, Uganda, Jamie has opened up the popular Kope Cafe while working with Invisible Children. The Daily Breeze has an article on Jamie’s travels, in what they’ve labeled a “visible success.”

The Adventures of Kenny

Hey Guys,

As many of you know, IC is different than a lot of nonprofits because we sincerely believe in investing in the youth of America – empowering them and encouraging them to make a difference. Think about it: if everyone not only fights for this cause, but also for whatever else their hearts lead them to, this world is going to be an amazing place in a few years.

With this mindset, there comes quite a few unconventional ways of raising awareness. Case in point: Over the past year or so, I’ve been blessed to meet some really sincere dudes from the pop band Fall Out Boy. If you don’t know about them yet, they’re HUGE right now and I guarantee you that your high school-aged daughter or niece not only knows about them, but is absolutely in love with one of the four members.

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