Meeting Summary - December 14th

Darfur Action Committee Meeting Agenda
December 14, 2007

- We decided that I would update the blog with meeting summaries but perhaps in the future, other people may be able to do this as well.
- We received a very generous donation from Mrs. Judy Elias - $440.85
- Thank you letter for Mrs. Elias was written by Debbie which we all need to sign and the picture that we will give to her of our club together will be in Room F203 on Tuesday right after school. Please wear green.
- Paperwork is in the process of being made out for our $1000 donation to HelpDarfurNow.org
- Press clippings from the Smithtown News about the Darfur Rally were discussed.
- Update on the "Darfur Now" movie showing and discussion with the Darfur People's Association of New York
- Movie Showing of "Sand and Sorrow" along with a Pizza Sale simultaneously was talked about along with a possible date in either January or February. The movie showing being a PIG hour for the seniors was also mentioned.
- Our Bulletin Board is a lot smaller now but we may have to use it anyway.
- No meeting next week on Friday.
- Flyers need to be put up right after break to promote the club because new members are always welcome.
- AJC Solar Cooker Campaign, A Donation of $30 to buy one solar cooker, for more information go to www.ajc.org. We may do a donation in the future where we buy a certain amount of these solar cookers so we know that we are helping specific people in the refugee camps.
- Postcards "Protect Darfur Now"
- The Doors for Darfur Idea was also mentioned and should be discussed further.
- Bracelets from the Save Darfur Coalition.
- Instant Messaging Donations were also brought up.

Great meeting guys. A lot of good ideas were passed around.

Meeting Summary - December 7th

Another great turnout this past Friday - you are a dedicated committee and it is so nice to see! Here's what we discussed:

- Brainstormed a list of organizations to donate the money that was raised from the Comedy Hypnosis show. Many contributed ideas and the ultimate decision was to donate $1000 to HelpDarfurNow.org. We liked that their overhead costs were low. From their website:

Help Darfur Now, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed by New Jersey high school students, committed to providing much-needed financial aid to refugees and refugee camps. The charity is an all volunteer organization with no payroll expenses. Approximately 98% of all proceeds contributed to the organization go toward Darfur relief efforts.

- Reminder about the upcoming showing of "Darfur Now" at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington on Tuesday night, Dec. 11th. Show starts at 7:30pm. Members of the Darfur People's Association of NY will be there speaking as well.

- Ben informed us that showing on HBO is a documentary called "Sand and Sorrow."

- Future activity ideas:
- movie showing after school coinciding with a pizza sale
- Car wash in the spring
- Pop-tops being looked into for legitimacy
- Tents of Hope

- We need to re-do the bulletin board.

"Sand and Sorrow" Documentary on HBO West

Sorry for this late night post but for anyone who's interested, Paul Freedman's documentary about the genocide in Darfur which is narrated by George Clooney is on HBO West (Channel 306) right now and should be replayed many times on the HBO and HBO West channels throughout the next few weeks.

"The documentary, which is set to premiere on the premium cable channel in December, chronicles the historical events that led to the rise of Darfur's Arab-dominated government that allows its people to be killed and displaced, provides an inside look at the situation on the ground and examines the international community's "legacy of failure" to respond to such profound crimes against humanity in the past."

Meeting Agenda Summary - November 29th

Debriefed Comedy Hypnosis Event:
- Raised $1300
- We need to decide where the money is going. We discussed some organizations and asked people to do some research and thinking and be prepared to dialogue at next week's meeting.
- An article appeared in the Smithtown News about the event
- Keep in mind that at the events that we plan, you must be willing to work and possibly forfeit being a participant

Preparation for Darfur Rally:
- Update on speakers - Senator Flanagan is speaking, as is Mr. Menendez and Harrini and Daniella
- Harrini and Daniella gave a run through of their speech and it floored us. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
- We have items for a table - trifold board, display for our committee, water jug for donations, flyers, and pamphlets. Ally graciously agreed to take all of this to the rally.

Darfur Now at Cinema Arts Centre:
- Tuesday, December 11th at 7:30 pm at the Cinema Arts Centre in huntington (www.cinemaartscentre.org)
- People from the Darfur People's Association of New York will be there.

Next Friday, December 7th, we have a meeting. We will discuss new campaign ideas.