Invisible Children Club Recognized Nationally for Fundraising Efforts

A New, Active Campus Organization Making a Difference

by Sarah Parshall

Invisible Children Club Recognized Nationally for Fundraising Efforts

Invisible Children is a movement that seeks to end Africa’s longest war and to protect children from becoming child soldiers.  Mason's new Invisible Children’s Club has just fourteen members, yet their fundraising efforts resulted in Mason ranked fifth in the nation among colleges and universities raising funds for Invisible Children. The club formed at the beginning of this school year. However, the passion and concept behind the club had been brewing for a while in the hearts of many student leaders.

Approaching 25 years of conflict, the violence inflicted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has resulted in Africa’s longest war. The conflict emerged from LRA leader Joseph Kony’s quest to impose his view of a theocratic form of government on central African nations.  Kony has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on thirty-three cases deemed crimes against humanity including sexual enslavement and acts of inflicting grotesque bodily injury. He has also been indicted on war crimes including cruel treatment of civilians, rape, and enlistment of children as soldiers. The area terrorized by the LRA ranges over 240,000 square miles of jungle terrain in three different countries; The Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Central African Republic. The motives of the LRA become increasingly more ambiguous and their crimes more horrific as time passes. Today, there is an increasing need for international commitment towards ending the war. Invisible Children seeks out lasting solutions for peace by working for access to education and economic development so that a people ravaged by war can eventually live in peace.

This past summer Mason Students Emily Bonzek, Michelle Pedicone, and Carolyn Schorr had the opportunity to attend the Fourth Estate, a conference in San Diego that inspired and boosted their zeal for the work being done through Invisible Children and other social justice organizations. Simultaneously, Charles Coats, whose leadership for this cause began while he was in high school, had the honor of speaking at the White House to the Obama administration as an advocate for the global justice movement as a student expert on the subject. He had been selected based on his leadership with the organization known as Resolve. Resolve is headquartered in Washington D.C. and advocates for policy makers to address the LRA conflict. This opportunity came after his participation in lobbying events and resulted in the unanimously supported legislation entitled the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. In a time of great division Congress, the Representatives and Senators united in support of legislation to allow the Obama Administration to take action against LRA atrocities. Last October, the efforts of all who have been advocating for governmental action paid off when President Obama signed a bill agreeing to send 100 American soldiers to Africa to arrest Joseph Kony.

The methods that the Invisible Children club uses to raise money are creative and fun. They deliver Starbucks, bake and deliver cookies, and offer to do student’s laundry, all for the sake of raising money for the cause. “The mission is to make 2012 the biggest year for this cause. We believe as a student group that the war could end and LRA be disbanded if all the stakeholders are in place,” Charles Coats states.  If students want to become involved with the Invisible Children Club they can contact them via email at invisiblegmu@gmail.com.