Spotlight on community service: STAND

By SASHA BASSI
Assistant life editor

Ever since its conception three years ago, STAND, formerly known as Students Taking Action Now Darfur, has been a prominent Poly club.

Described as “the student-led division of the Genocide Intervention Network” according to the STAND website, the STAND Poly chapter was initiated by Leslie Brian ’07 during her sophomore year. The group is designed to raise awareness among students about the genocide in Darfur, while also raising money to help improve the living conditions of those living in the conflicted regions. This year, STAND is lead by junior Maggie Burdge, who plans to lead the club in taking action not only in Darfur, but also in other violence-affected regions such as Congo, Chad and the Central African Republic.
The group has already kicked off the school year with ambitious goals. It hopes to raise money through various events all planned to take place throughout the school year. These events include a viewing of the documentary “Darfur Now,” which is being screened at Poly to reward its STAND chapter for its incredible fundraising last year, and bake sales, the first of which will raise money for Ethiopia.
In addition to planning events that will raise money, the group will participate in a STAND conference in Washington, D.C. on the weekend of November 7. At the conference, members of STAND will join a rally, learn about other regions that are affected by violence such as Congo and Burma and participate in various activist workshops. These activities are designed so that club members will develop the skills that are needed to become better advocates of the STAND cause.
The conference will be held in partnership with the adult conference of Save Darfur and with Tents of Hope, a charity dedicated to creating tents that provide shelter for the Sudanese people and raise awareness about the genocide.
Every year there are an increasing number of students who join the club, and according to Burdge, the more students that join, the more of a difference the group will make.
“This year STAND has a great number of members, more than last year, which shows we are moving forward, but we can always use more members,” Burdge says. She further emphasizes her point by saying, “The work that a student as a member of STAND does, no matter how small, makes all the difference in Sudan as every penny of the money raised through STAND is sent to Africa in one form or another.”