Students at Centre Wellington District High School plan to make a difference by helping those not normally seen by others.
CWDHS teacher Diane Ballantyne, of the Canadian and world studies department, explained that for the past three years the social justice class at the school (a combination of Canadian and world politics and challenge and change in society) has been raising awareness about a variety of global issues.
Each semester, the class takes on the task of working in a small group to research a charity, including analyzing its use of funds and connections to supporting the Universal Declarations of Human Rights and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Then they create a “film pitch” for their classmates, to convince them that their charity is the worthy of a class-organized fundraiser. This year, the class decided Invisible Children was the charitable organization for which they would like to raise money.
In the past, the class has raised funds for Oxfam, Kiva, War Child, and Free the Children, for everything from micro-loans to fresh water wells, to the tune of over $15,000.
This year’s fundraising banquet will take place on May 19 from 5:30 to 8pm.
For $10 ($5 for children) participants receive a home-cooked buffet-style dinner, hear a variety of local Centre Wellington talent, view the chosen student film as well as a few other educational shorts (from Invisible Children and Raise Hope for Congo) and have the opportunity to participate in a 50:50 draw, a raffle table, a silent auction, and experience henna tattooing.
The social justice class will specifically fundraise for the building of a radio tower for an Early Warning Radio Network in the Democratic Republic of Congo as its main project. That will connect villages to security forces and increase community safety from rebel forces.
The event is being advertised as Falconstock for Social Justice or Falconstock for Invisible Children.
Several awareness-raising activities lead up to the event including: a gently used book drive will be set up in the cafeteria to assist the Invisible Children’s Schools to Schools program; the preview of an Invisible Children film during a noon-hour; and, a “I gave up my cell phone” day to show solidarity with the lack of communication technology of the people of the Congo.
Tickets for the event begin May 16 in the CWDHS cafeteria.
For further information contact Ballantyne, at 519-843-2500 extension 557 or diane.ballantyne@ugdsb.on.ca.
