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Newark Club raises $4448 for Darfur
Newark High School Interact Club has been ranked 17th among 2000 participating schools. The Newark High School Interact Club's decision to extend its appeal for funds for the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan, not only resulted in it receiving $4448.10, but also placing 17th out of 2000 U.S. high schools involved in the competition. The Interact Club began its Dollars for Darfur fundraiser in January in conjunction with the Save Darfur Coalition that challenged high schools across the country to help raise funds to aid the war-ravaged country. Since it was nearing its original goal of $1500 that was largely made up of contributions from NHS student and staff, Interact Club members decided in February to double the amount they originally had hoped to raise because it was for such a good cause. Willie Clark has been overseeing the fundraising effort. People sent in checks when they heard about the drive, and three churches - St. Michael, the First United Methodist Church and Park Presbyterian - made large contributions after Clark, Mary Timerson, Elizabeth Buerman and Cara Wilck spoke in their churches. Chelsea Bendix, Thomas VanDuyne, Tracy Burlingham and Chris Jackson also assisted at the churches. Clark learned about the plight of the people of Darfur when a musician at a concert last autumn dedicated a song to them. Intrigued, he went home and looked at a website about it. A month later, he presented a lesson about it to the students in Mark DeYoung's freshman global studies class. During Christmas break he read in the Courier-Gazette about a Midlakes High School student who'd been involved in the cause before her untimely death. Clark decided to do what he could for the cause. He approached Interact Club president Nick Schwind with the idea of doing a club fundraiser. 'I'm really, really happy about how this turned out,' Clark said. 'This is the first time I've ever done anything like this, and it has really been amazing to see everyone come together for such a good cause.'
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