Who better to support children of war and help tell their stories than other youth? This is the idea behind the upcoming “Share the Love” humanitarian concert and fundraiser, organized by students from 11 schools, including Palisades Charter High School. The youth-produced event, supported by the nonprofit organization One Global Tribe, will be held at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood on Saturday, March 4 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 pre-sale and $15 at the door. The students are raising money for the rehabilitation of the traumatized and wounded child soldiers at Rachele Rehabilitation Center in Lira, Uganda. The children of northern Uganda are kidnapped in the middle of the night, forced to become child soldiers and then sent to war. “It’s a situation that everyone’s been too quiet about,” said Megan Green, a PaliHi sophomore and president of her school’s Global Tribe community service club. “The main goal [of the concert] is to raise awareness for the cause.” Ryan Devlin (host of “Entertainment Tonight” on MTV) will host the event, which will feature a silent auction and performances by three high school bands, including The Outline, No Sex Just Dancing and Columbia. Special guests include KAOS Project Blowed Youth Poetry Team, with original poetry and spoken word presentations. The bands “have a large high school following,” said Green, who plans to start selling tickets at school on February 27. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to sell out.” On the evening of the event, students will also help launch “The Name Campaign” by selling dog tags ($15 each) engraved with the real name of an actual child soldier. By purchasing a dog tag, “you’re representing the name of a former child soldier in Uganda,” Green said. “You’re saying that you’re taking a stand for these people.” “The Name Campaign” (www.thenamecampaign.org) is dedicated to raising awareness of the 19-year-old conflict and its effect on thousands of children. Dog tags will be available for purchase throughout the year. “We really want to turn them into the next LIVESTRONG bracelets,” Green said, referring to the bright yellow wristbands that support the Lance Armstrong Foundation. One Global Tribe was started by activist Amy Eldon, the host and associate producer of “Dying to Tell the Story,” an Emmy-nominated film about the death of her older brother, 22-year-old Reuters photographer Dan Eldon, in Somalia in 1993. One Global Tribe offers youth and their teachers the tools and knowledge to engage themselves in being global citizens. “It’s an organization whose goal is to unite youth from all parts of the world,” said Green, who started Pali’s Global Tribe club at the beginning of the school year, after community service director Gretchen Miller referred her to the organization. Sophomore Jordan Petitt is vice president of the club. “Share the Love” will bring together youth from the east and west sides of Los Angeles to take a stand on the theme of war and violence. In addition to Pali, other participating high schools include Wildwood, New Roads, Crossroads, Archer School for Girls, Venice, Buckley, Marlborough School, Harvard-Westlake, Oakwood and Windward. “The voice and vision of youth is at the heart of this event,” said Alison Fast, outreach director of One Global Tribe. “We like to promote the idea that you don’t have to wait until you get out of high school to make a difference in the world.” The Knitting Factory is located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd. For more information, visit www.oneglobaltribe.org or www.namecampaign.org.
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