It’s not often that hot chocolate is used as a medium for discussing global issues, but then again, the Invisible Children club would hardly classify their cause as normal. .
On Nov. 5-16, as Invisible Children launches it’s hot chocolate selling fundraiser, the IC members hope that Titans think change when they see hot chocolate.
The fundraiser will consist of the IC selling hot chocolate every Wednesday in the courtyard or commons before school for 50¢.
The Invisible Children is a global activism group dedicated to stopping the reign of terror of the Ugandan war monger, Joseph Kony. Junior Anusha Kodhidi said, “It’s an organization started by three guys after they graduated high school in order to stop Joseph Kony from tearing families apart and scaring kids for life by kidnapping them and forcing them to shoot their family and friends.” While the events in Uganda have caused global outrage, there is hope in part due to the IC. “IC has made it so that now those villages [villages targeted by Kony’s violence] get a warning and they have time to escape and get to a safe location. So many lives have been changed due to their work,” said Kodidhi.
The hot chocolate fundraiser is West’s IC’s own personal way a making a change. The brain child of Juniors Katie Brown and Brittany Panko, the fundraiser is an initiative launched as part of their DECA abilities. Brown, who was a member of IC before the fundraiser, said her time fundraising and volunteering started because, “ I just like meeting new people and helping out different things outside of Lee’s Summit West always interested me.” Brown’s desire to make a difference seemed to fit perfectly in the schedule
When Brown took Panko to a meeting and then they were assigned the task of making a fundraiser for a club, they both agreed that IC was a perfect fit. As Brown said, “ It’s a great club to be apart of and getting more people to join is the ultimate goal.” Panko agreed saying her goal with the fundraiser was just to get “more people to be aware of the cause and get involved, even if they don’t join the club, just to get a better understanding of what it is.”
As of now the IC is hopeful that this fundraiser will bring them the awareness and presence in the school they’ve been waiting. And as Kodidhi put it, “ when it’s cold and early in the morning, who doesn’t want awesome hot chocolate.”
