Laura Levine is doing something beyond herself, beyond the University of Michigan campus, and even beyond this country and continent. Oceans and several thousand miles separate Laura from the brutal war in Central Africa that began 20 years ago, but Laura and fellow co-president Isabel Cohen of the student organization Invisible Children hope to raise awareness on campus and provide help to the survivors and victims of this tragedy. With our help, we hope to spread the word about this war. HerCampus explores how Laura helps to provide relief for Invisible Children despite the distance.
HC: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
LL: I’m from Philadelphia, but have always had my sights set on coming to Michigan. U of M is a big school in my family—both of my parents graduated from here and so did my brother, my cousin, and my aunt and uncle. Growing up with a bunch of Michigan fans, I always wanted to be a student myself. As of now I am undecided on my major, still taking classes to narrow down my interests. Hopefully I’ll have that one figured out soon!
HC: I hear you’ve recently taken on a leadership position in an organization
at the University of Michigan. Tell us more about the organization and how
you learned about this opportunity.
LL: I recently took the position of co-president of U of M’s Invisible Children club (along with Isabel Cohen). Invisible Children is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to spreading awareness of and providing aid to those trapped in a brutal war that began in Uganda over twenty years ago and has now spread to other areas of Central Africa. IC emphasizes the use of media and the power of youth to spread awareness of this crisis, and innovative ways of fundraising to fund their aid and rehabilitation programs. The U of M club was created to spread awareness of the conflict on campus and get students involved with Invisible Children.
HC: What made you decide to get involved and take on the leadership role?
LL: I was involved with Invisible Children in high school, so when I came to Michigan last fall I looked up the club on Maize Pages. I was delighted to see that Invisible Children was active on campus, so I got in touch with the president and immediately got involved. This year the former president stepped down and handed over presidency of the club to me and Isabel, since we had demonstrated such interest in the cause last year.
HC: What will people who participate in the club be doing to help?
LL: The main focus of our club for the next few weeks is the promotion of Invisible Children’s newest documentary, Kony 2012(which will be screened at New Life Church on Washtenaw Avenue at 7 PM on March 14). Representatives from the national organization will be coming to our campus to show this new documentary, which promises to be both eye opening and inspiring. Right now we are working on figuring out creative ways to promote the film and are hoping to get at least 250 attendees.
HC: What are some of the challenges you’ve had to face starting this
organization?
LL: Starting an organization is not as simple as it may sound, since you need to go through a whole online registration process, create a constitution, figure out your organization account, etc. Luckily though, Isabel and I didn’t have to register the club from scratch, we only had to re-register the club. This process doesn’t take nearly as long, since re-registration is simpler and we had an existing constitution that we were able to make amendments to. Other than a few bumps in the road trying to figure out the re-registration process, we have been lucky enough not to face any major obstacles!
HC: What does the future hold for your organization?
LL: We hope that this year we can expand our membership and expand awareness of our club and cause across campus. Hopefully in the future we will have a large, thriving, and accomplished organization that has made significant contributions to Invisible Children’s efforts.
HC: How can Her Campus readers get involved in your organization?
LL: Her Campus can get involved by helping us spread the word. If anyone is interested in getting involved with our organization, please send us an email at invisiblechildrenumich@gmail.com. We are looking for anyone who is eager to be involved!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mich chapter.