Active teens stand up

Students from Calabasas High School are joining peers from other Los Angeles area schools to support Teens Against Genocide (TAG), a coalition of high school students working to help bring an end to ongoing atrocities in Sudan, specically the genocide in Darfur.

The group is planning an informational rally from 2 to 5 p.m. Sun., April 23 in front of the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood.

Organizers are lining up speakers including TAG members, elected officials and a "lost boy" from Sudan.

The students will sell TAG Tshirts, designed by the group, to raise funds.

According to Shira Shane, coordinator of TAG, the group is unique in that it was created by students who want to make a difference for good, and is 100 percent student-run.

"This is the first time that a coalition of high schools are coming together to shed light on an atrocity the teenagers feel deserves attention. It is important to

take action and show our government that we care about this topic," said Shane.

With the help of students from 20 high schools throughout Los Angeles County, TAG members say they are determined to take action.

Funds raised will be donated to the International Medical Core through Jewish World Watch. The IMC, a nonprofit organization, will ensure that all funds raised reach refugees in and around Darfur.

The money will help the IMC dig wells and build medical centers for Darfurian refugees, and train them to operate the medical centers to better assist their own people.

According to reports on Darfur by the United Nations and the Coalition for International Justice, 3.5 million people are starving, violence has displaced 2.5 million people from their homes, and more than 400,000 people have died since January 2003.

For more information about TAG, call Shane at (818) 6216065.