By Wren Lee
Staff Writer
@LeeLaurenWren

Headlines screaming about the terrors of the world are commonplace these days, and there are people left behind. Organizations such as the United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), are necessary in helping those in need.

That is why Coppell High School sophomore Claudia Wang, junior Tyler H. and junior Rutuja Joshi founded the CHS UNICEF Club. Wang and Tyler serve as the club’s president, and Joshi the vice president.

UNICEF is a global UN-run organization that helps out those people in need, with a special focus on children.

But how can some teens from Texas help these people in need? That was the question that the three founders of the club had in mind.

“We felt like just knowing something wasn’t doing anything,” Joshi said, “But through this club, we’d actually be able to make a difference.”

And they are making a difference. Every year around Halloween, there is a fundraiser by UNICEF to help children in need.

At CHS, $90 was raised for this cause. While $90 may not seem like much, it means clean water or a better education for someone who is currently without it.

“We’re all really privileged,” Wang said. “We have a lot to give to those who are in need.”

While the original UNICEF has a global reach, the CHS UNICEF Club hopes to also make a difference within the community. For example, there is a future soup kitchen visit scheduled in the upcoming weeks.

“We can help out the soup kitchens and orphanages. I hope these people will feel touched by the connection, and they won’t give up hope,” Joshi said.

The club is not only working to raise funds for people in need, but it is also hopes to raise advocacy in the community.

“We hope to show people what it’s like for other kids around the world,” Wang said. The life of a girl in Nigeria is much different than our own.

Advocacy helps people get informed on what is going on in the rest of the world. Through that, people will see the hardships and, hopefully, rise to the challenge to help those in need.

“People band together, and they can have more actions,” Tyler said. “That’s why the goal is expanding and creating awareness for the club to have the greatest impact.”
With future fundraisers such as a 5K run for the Syrian refugees and a karaoke event, the CHS UNICEF Club is making a difference for those who are currently in need, and those who may need help in the future.