Invisible Children Org. honors Juan Diego Catholic High students and alumni for N. Ugandan effort

DRAPER — Juan Diego Catholic High School announced that two alumni and one current student are now carrying the bronze, silver and gold – not for sports, but for philanthropic achievement.  They are being recognized by the international Invisible Children organization as  "Heroes." They were selected from among 14,000+ nominations for their efforts in raising awareness and funds to build schools in war-torn N. Uganda.  Amanda Cupido, class of 2007 was one of the top 100 "Bronze Heroes" named; Jessa Brocklebank, a junior at Juan Diego was one of the top 25 "Silver Heroes;" and Claire Cushing, class of 2007 was selected as one of the top "Gold Heroes." The ten Gold Heroes will go to Washington DC, February 23-24 for a "Schools-For-Schools Summit" to discuss political advocacy and vision for peace in N. Uganda.  The Summit is being held by Invisible Children leaders in conjunction with the "N. Uganda Lobby Days" in which students will meet with their own representatives in Congress.

Invisible Children is a media-based non-profit with a mission to bring about peace to Northern Uganda by reeducating children impacted by 21 years of war. Many Ugandan children must escape abduction by revolutionaries who enlist even the 10 year olds.  They try to survive in substandard conditions and lack the necessary resources for proper education. Through Invisible Children’s Schools-for-Schools campaign, students in America raise money to holistically improve life, and sustain peaceful coexistance by re-educating the Ugandan. Invisible Children started with the 2004 film "Invisible Children: Rough Cut," a revealing documentary about the life of child soldiers in N. Uganda who seek refuge from the fighting.

Last year, the three awardees were inspired by the film, which was presented by Juan Diego’s Human Rights International Club, and started a "Schools for Schools" campaign. Despite misgivings from their peers and through creative fundraising campaigns they raised $35,212, ranking second in the nation among 500 other schools and colleges.  For their outstanding achievement, Cushing and Cupido were awarded a trip to N. Uganda to witness the plight in Uganda, and experience the rebuilding of Gulu High School.  They say their experience was life-altering.  After graduating, Cushing and Cupido went on to launch "Schools-For-Schools" campaigns at their colleges, Lewis & Clark University and Colorado State University respectively. 

This year, Brocklebank was joined by Camry Martinez, Lauren Zaccardi  and Yuki Zuzumbo at Juan Diego to repeat the effort.  They decided to expand the campaign, inviting other Utah Catholic schools to join them.  Even kindergarteners collected coins to help with the "Schools-For-Schools" campaign conducted during Catholic Schools Week in January.  Juan Diego, Judge Memorial, Kearns-St. Ann, St. Vincent de Paul, Our Lady of Lourdes, and St. John the Baptist Middle and Elementary schools raised more than $36,000 for Invisible Children.

Juan Diego Catholic High School is a non-profit organization located in Draper, Utah.  For more information about Juan Diego, visit www.jdchs.org.  For more information about Invisible Children’s Schools-For-Schools campaign, visit www.invisiblechildren.com. The N. Ugandan Lobby can be found at http://www.ugandalobbyday.com.