'Coffeehouse for a Cause' raises money for Uganda

\With blankets laid out across the floor and music coming from local bands and university students, the mood was set Thursday night for Coffeehouse for a Cause, a fundraising event hosted by Uganda Untold, a student organization on campus that raises awareness of the civil war in Uganda.

Senior Nicki Brooks, president of Uganda Untold, said although this event is not necessarily about Uganda, the organization wants to raise awareness in order to help the current situation.

“There is a 23-year-long civil war going on over there and child soldiers have been fighting this war throughout the whole time,” Brooks said. “It’s absolutely atrocious, and we need to do as much as we can to stop it.”
The money collected from the $5 entrance fee will go toward the Uganda Untold organization, and the money raised from selling raffle tickets goes straight to Uganda.

Brooks said Uganda Untold also raises money for three philanthropies. One is Project Have Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of families in the Acholi Quarter of Ugnada. The group also sells recycled jewelry created by 100 women in the Acholi Quarter and all the money goes directly to those families.

The other two philanthropies are UNIFAT and Invisible Children: Schools for Schools, Brooks said. At the Invisible Children table, there was a letter-writing station where students could fill out a prewritten letter asking the United States Senate to pass legislation to rid Uganda of the Lord’s Resistance Army, the group that uses child soldiers in the war.

Junior Rebecca Centeno, vice president of Uganda Untold, said bills get passed because of the persistence of college students.

“Everybody wants to see passion, commitment and dedication,” Centeno said.

Throughout the night, the stage, decked in Christmas lights, was occupied by local bands while free coffee was provided by university catering.

Anna Bartels, special events coordinator for Uganda Untold, said all the bands that performed, including Shane Palkovitz, Katie K, the Golden Blues, and Tim Mahoney, did fantastically.

“All the bands were generous enough to contribute to the event without getting paid,” Bartels said.

Senior Christina Larson said she read several handouts on the various tables at the event to learn about the history of Uganda. She said she bought raffle tickets and a bead necklace, which was sold to raise money for Project Have Hope.

“It’s good to do things like this,” Larson said. “It’s not like a boring lecture.”

Junior Korin Reid, fellow special events coordinator, said the most important thing she wishes college students knew more about the situation in Uganda is the child soldiers. The LRA is responsible for the abductions of children from their homes, she said.

“They are no longer with their families and the LRA doesn’t keep track of the kids,” Reid said. “It would never happen over here, and over there it is happening every day.”