"You're sitting in your home but you're not safe. A militia called the Janjaweed are invading to torch your village, rape women and children and kill anyone who resists. There is no escape."

Those were the opening words of Brian Goff, a Jupiter For Darfur club member, to hundreds of captivated students and faculty at Jupiter High School. He was one of 10 JFD speakers that advocated to every JHS English class on Friday, April 20 about the mass killings in Darfur, where the death toll officially numbers at approximately 200,000, but other estimates report more than 400,000.

"The rooms were totally jazzed," said Kelsey Joyce, who was one of the JFD speakers. "Everyone was asking a lot of questions, making tons of donations and really wanting to get involved."

The guest-speaking binge was part of the JFD's energized effort to rally and inform people about the genocide in Darfur, a region of Sudan (a country in Africa). Also on speech day, the club aired a four-minute video of the conflict in Darfur on JHS TV, following the morning announcements. The production--made by Mike Bursey--was also shown the previous day. While airing, the video rendered the whole campus silent, according to Mike Hochman, JFD president.

On that electrified Friday, people reacted. The one-day information storm generated $1,000 in donations within less than 24 hours, and JFD membership exploded. The once 15-student club now boasts more than 60 members.

"The response has been incredible," Hochman said. "Students come up to me and say 'I work at Publix--maybe we can put donation jars at the counters' or 'Hey, my dad manages a restaurant--can we get something going there?' I mean, everyone is going all out and trying to do everything within their power to help. Someone even approached me from The Rapids (Water Park) and had ideas for that. It's just been amazing."

Additional benefactors include JFD member McKay Stephan's mom, who donated 960 candy bars (worth hundreds of dollars) for the club to sell, and a female student who gave $100 all at once.

Assisting the cause academically, club member Joyce assembled a 20-page magazine for her journalism class about the conflict in Darfur, which enclosed in-depth information detailing the atrocities, relief agency efforts, lack of media coverage, celebrity influence and conditions of the refugee camps.

Since forming in February, JFD has raised more than $3,000 for the Save Darfur Coalition. "From what I understand, half of the money sent in goes toward advocacy and the other half goes toward the refugees," Hochman said.

Presently, the club is selling tote bags with a hand-painted acacia tree, the logo of the SDC, on each one. The acacia tree is a refugee symbol, representing safety. Bags can be bought for $10 each. As for upcoming fundraisers, JFD will hold a bake sale--its second of the year--on May 12 and May 13 (Mother's Day weekend) at St. Peter's Catholic Church after each Mass. "So far, I think we've done well at educating the school, and now it's time to really start reaching out to the community," JFD vice president Christine Bursey said. She hopes the club can raise $5,000 to $10,000 next school year.

But despite the financial success of the club, JFD members said increasing awareness and education is their main priority. "Learning about the genocide in Darfur has really put things into perspective for me," Goff said. "I used to be narrow-minded and this has really been an eye-opener. I mean, we take so much for granted in the United States. I just hope I can spread the word and reach some people."

JFD club meetings are held every Friday in Mrs. Shepard's room, door number 7-211.

The video that aired on Friday, April 20, at JHS can be viewed at: http://h1.ripway.com/stiekim/darfurvideo.html