This story first appeared in the April 4 issue of The Saratoga Falcon.

Students usually don’t know what to do with that spare 50 cents after buying chicken wings for lunch everyday. It usually ends up at the bottom of a backpack. Now that the Invisible Children Alliance Club has placed change collection bins at the end of the lunch line in order to raise money, students can use their change for a good cause.

“We know that students have a lot of extra spare change from buying lunches,” said club president junior Sanketh Katta. “We wanted an easy way to raise money in small ways which would bring back large profits, and we figured that this was the best way.”

The club donates all its proceeds to help benefit the children of war-torn northern Uganda. Due to the current political difficulties in the country, many children have been taken as child warriors by the local rebel groups. These children are known as the “Invisible Children,” because they do not want to be seen or captured

“The proceeds all go to help the children and the schools by giving money to buy new books and other school supplies which they greatly need,” said Katta.

In addition to placing a collection jar in the lunch lines, the club has other plans with which it wishes to promote awareness of the current situation.

“We are going to hold a screening in the McAfee to show the Invisible Children documentary, which was made by the founders of the organization,” said Katta.

The international organization was founded after three young filmmakers visited the region in 2003. They were horrified by the images that they captured and decided to form an alliance to help raise money for those children deeply affected by the war.

The film can be viewed on the Invisible Children website or at the McAfee Center on May 15.