July’s Darfur Hero

Hi! My name is Angelica Schwartz and I am the event coordinator of Stroll for Sudan, a youth-powered walk-a-thon with headquarters in Beloit, Wisconsin. I'm a 15-years-old, soon-to-be high school sophomore and was blessed to be able to work with a group of talented and dedicated young people this past year. They were the foundation of this event, and its success is due largely to their huge efforts.

It all started around December 2006. That's when I saw a Save Darfur commercial while channel surfing one afternoon. I was astounded that I had never heard of the crisis in Darfur and quickly began searching for more information on the web. I started with Save Darfur's site and branched out from there. The more I learned, the more outraged I became. But what could I do? I began bouncing ideas off of my parents and friends. We eventually came up with the idea of walk-a-thon, and Stroll for Sudan was born.

Finding the charity our proceeds would go to was a no-brainer. I have participated in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine through my church's youth group for years, and they were one of the first websites I went to after discovering the conflict in Darfur. Sure enough, they had a special section for humanitarian relief in Darfur on their homepage. Later, when I called to make the donation of almost $4,700, I was blown away by the friendly service and respect I received from World Vision's staff.

We held meetings in the afternoon at my church. My pastor graciously allowed us to use their building as our headquarters as well as letting us run our money through their books, ensuring that all donations would be tax deductible. Every staff member (ages 13-16) received a job. Some were in charge of contacting churches and schools. Others were to collect monetary or product donations from local business. Still others were in charge of signs, press, and t-shirt design and printing. Parents were supportive and helpful in the planning process as well. Especially since most of our volunteers didn't own a driver's license.

The day of the event dawned cloudy and ominous, but the rain held off until after we were done with our 3.3 mile walk. Our two speakers were Sachin Chheda of the Darfur Action Coalition of Wisconsin and Ibrahim Musa, who once lived in Darfur and still visits family there. They were wonderful and added a lot to the event. Hotdogs, chips, and bottled water were donated and free for the walkers. Once we had collected pledges, freewill offerings, and outside donations, the amount totaled about $4,700. We plan on doing a similar event next year. More info can be found at www.strollforsudan.org, and I can be contacted at .