There are over 2.2 billion children in the world and of those 2.2 billion children, 1 billion are living in poverty. That’s every second child. The world is simply WAC, and that’s why graduate Mollie Wasserman (Class of 2008) first created the World Awareness Club. This year Mollie’s sister, junior Lillie Wasserman, has joined together with junior Clare Tang to revive the club.
“Our goal is to fight ignorance in teenagers,” Lillie said. “Typically we care only about things directly affecting us, but you can do a lot of good for a lot of people if you just broaden your horizons.”
While the club fizzled out last year, Lillie and Clare have a strong plan and high hopes for this year. Already this year, WAC hosted a guest speaker from Invisible Children, who talked about being abducted as a child soldier at age 16.
“I knew about the child soldiers but talking to someone who escaped was heartbreaking and really made me want to take action and help these kids,” Lillie said.
Besides hosting events, meetings are held on Thursdays in social studies teacher Ms. Cathy Dobkin’s room. During meetings, students give presentations about current events around the world and how to get involved.
“It tends to be a small group who are really devoted to the idea of knowing more about world conflicts and humanitarian causes,” Dobkin said.
WAC will also work on one to two larger projects each semester. In earlier years projects included raising money for Invisible Children’s Schools for Schools program, which builds schools in Uganda, as well as adopting a less fortunate family during the winter time to provide gifts and warm clothes for. This year the club plans to do more with Invisible Children, adopt another family this winter, and participate in the Shoeman Water Project.
“We choose projects that help people based on what we’ve become aware of through the presentations. It gives us a connection,” Lillie said.
Teens especially are stereotyped as being unaware of the world around them. It’s often because teens tend to take opportunities for granted. Clare encourages students to poke their head outside of their house to discover and get involved in the world that so desperately needs our help.
“Kids ask for wants rather than needs, it’s greedy,” Clare said. “Not everyone has the gift of being educated. Third-world countries don’t even have that chance. We complain all the time about going to school, but we’re lucky to have the opportunity.”
Dobkin encourages students to utilize their voice through voting, sending letters to Congress, and spreading the word. She sees the potential in her students, but she also sees the abundance of excuses.
“Just from my [class] discussions asking about a particular event there’s not much response. They are curious, but students tend to use the same excuses as adults do—what could I really do to help and I’m too busy,” Dobkin said. “Research from the field of positive psychology has revealed that people who volunteer and make contributions to their community and the world report more fulfillment and happiness.”
WAC provides an ideal place to learn about the world, make a difference in the world, and feel the happiness that comes with helping to change the world.
“My favorite part of World Awareness Club is learning new things and knowing we pulled something off that had a positive impact on other human beings,” Lillie said.
