This innovative project hopes to help bring an end to the atrocities of the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Students are trying to raise awareness by presenting the project to the general public, the government, and the media. This project is completely student driven, run by student volunteers. Please participate, and help spread the word about this project.

"We, Elm Place Middle School students, have created a project called "Reach for Change." The purpose of Reach for Change is to raise awareness about the Darfur genocide. We are asking you to color paper dolls which will be used as a visual aid to show the impact of the loss of so many lives. Our goal is to collect 400,000 paper dolls, representing the estimated 400,000 people who have died in the genocide so far. Please share this project with family, friends, and co-workers so that Darfur can be saved! . . . Also, as of right now, there is no deadline!"

Get your dolls!
Please download and print the doll template from this link:

http://www.nssd112.org/elmplace/teachers/Levi/PaperDolls.pdf

Once you have decorated your dolls, please send them to:

Elm Place Middle School

2031 N. Sheridan Rd.

Highland Park, IL 60035

To contact us with questions or comments:

Phone #: (847) 432-9217

Fax #: (847) 432-9213

E-mail: reachforchange@msn.com

Website: http://reachforchange.com/index.html

Hey!
Here are some of our notes from the last meeting we had. We are planning a Dream for Darfur event for November in Central Oregon. Please contact me if you wish to get involved! Please spread the word!
con paz,
sarah


Central Oregon Dream for Darfur Meeting Notes from Wednesday August 28, 2007

WHEN: SOMETIME BETWEEN NOVEMBER 10-12, 2007

1) Get people involved!!
We need to get others involved in the early stages of planning--how will we get people involved?
--Hand out flyers at high-traffic events: farmer's markets, art walk, etc.
--contact people we know, friends and family
--create a MySpace account
--add info about it in blogs
--post in church bulletins, event bulletins, etc.
--spreading the word…we all need to get the word out!

2) Our vision of the event so far:
--Art walk of some sort involving artwork done by kids…theme to be focused on Children Helping Children…their "Dream for Darfur;" also have art by local artists. These may be up in coffee shops, art galleries, hopefully for First Friday in order to spread the word about the big event
--Camp Darfur: possibly on a Sunday or Monday, at a school, park, or highly visible or easily accessible location
--Torch rally/speech-type event

3) Fundraising: if we raise funds, we want to be transparent about where the money goes, and what the organizations will use the money for. We want to find 2-4 good organizations that we can recommend people donate to--the organizations we choose should have information about them and exactly what the organizations use the money for. One of those should be an organization that focuses on helping children in Darfur (possibly with education, etc.). We prefer people to write checks directly to the organization of their choice, but we will accept cash donations. We must be good stewards of their money and make sure it gets to the right place.

4) Permits: an assembly permit costs $124 and should be filed 30-90 days in advance. We would also need liability insurance for events in public places. The Bend code lists places they prefer events to be held. One of those is Mirror Pond.
--Danielle will be the point person for logistics and permits. If we get any info or help in this area, we should contact Danielle.
--As we continue to plan, we can figure out what our expected number of participants will be.

5) Media: Sarah will be the point person for media. If you want to help with contacting media outlets, doing press releases or flyers/brochures, please contact her.
--Sarah will start working on putting together an information packet, flyer, and other info that we can give to people
--We want to involve the Unitarian Universalist group that plans to go to Darfur in the coming year. We think this will help their group spread the word about their work, upcoming trip, etc. We also think it will help to highlight the work, effort and passion for Darfur in Central Oregon.

6) People to contact:
EVERYONE CAN CONTACT: Schools, COCC groups, churches, other
organizations and businesses, our representatives
--SMART of Redmond (Bill)
--Rise Up, Inc. (Danielle will contact)
--Famous Bullrider in Prineville (Danielle will contact)
--Code Pink (Danielle)
--Rise Up (Danielle)
--the Unitarian Universalist group that plans to go to Darfur (Phil will contact)
--First Presbyterian Church (Phil)
--Devore's (Phil)
--Spiritual Awareness Center (Phil)
--Backporch Coffee (Phil)
--Peace Center of Central Oregon (Phil)
--Human Dignity coalition (Phil)
--Jewish Community in Central Oregon (Phil)
--Starbuck's (Sarah)
--Bellatazza (Sarah)
--Balay (Sarah)
--Art Station (Sarah)
--Nicholas Kristof (Sarah)
--Boys and Girls Club (Sarah)
--Society of Friends/Quakers (Sarah)
--Relief workers, relief orgs., survivors, NW Medical Teams (Sarah)
**There are others that aren't listed!

7) Point People:
--Bill will post on blogs and other web-related media
--Phil will keep track of Outreach contacts. If we contact someplace or someone, let him know!
--Sarah: media
--Danielle: logistics/permits, MySpace and other internet outreach
**Hopefully we can get point people to fill in other roles as needed.

8) Art Walk info:
*Submissions done by mid-October
*Focus on children helping children. Theme: Dream for Darfur
*Sarah could hold PeaceTiles workshops for youth and adults for art submissions
*Get schools and local artists involved
*Hang for public to see for around three weeks: last week of October and first couple weeks of November
*Have them for First Friday

Dear Friends,

In just a couple of weeks, the international community will be showing its support for Darfur by engaging in the Weekend of Prayer for Darfur.

The Portland and NW Oregon area was chosen as one of a handful of areas to focus on during this time of faith and activism, and because this matter is very important to me, I am doing my best to contact every faith group that I can.

I am asking you to stand with us this December, joining diverse communities of faith, to protect the people of Darfur and call for an end to genocide in Sudan. Let's send a message to the world that we will not stand idly by and watch the death of our brothers and sisters.

On the weekend of December 8, 9 and 10 we need you to call on your faith community to include a prayer for Darfur in weekly services. Save Darfur Coalition has offered to deliver to your house of worship a "Call to Conscience" banner for display during the Weekend of Prayer for Darfur.

Sign-up for your banner and support material at:
Link

You can get a packet of information to help plan your prayer event at: www.savedarfur.org/faith

December 10, 2006 is International Human Rights Day. All communities of faith are united in recognizing universal human rights. The Weekend of Prayer for Darfur is timed to coincide with International Human Rights Day.

Hundreds of churches, synagogues and mosques around the country are displaying banners. Each banner helps to raise awareness and can create another activist working to protect the people of Darfur.

Please join thousands of other communities of faith on December 8, 9 and 10.
The people of Darfur need your prayers. Your efforts will also be heard here at home, where our national leaders must be reminded that the people of Darfur need them to take action today.

Thank you for being a committed Darfur activist. Your continuing efforts deliver hope and save lives. Please help the effort by spreading the word! Please tell other faith groups in your neighborhood or that you know.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me by phone or email.
Sincerely,

sarah stark
--
sarah j. stark
Portland Coalition for Genocide Awareness
www.genocideawareness.net
Link
sjstark@gmail.com
208-739-3308