The Aspen High School Club is Headed to Uganda
If you’re a longtime friend of Action In Africa, you may know that the organization was established 17 years ago during our Founder Sarah’s sophomore year at Aspen High School. If you’re new here, welcome! Action In Africa began as a high school club raising funds for various African organizations, and has since grown into a thriving organization that provides free life-changing programs to thousands of individuals in Nakuwadde, Uganda. Under Sarah's guidance, Action in Africa has experienced remarkable growth yet we’re always reminded that this organization’s roots are planted at Aspen High School, where dozens of students continue Sarah’s legacy. And this month, after three very long years interrupted by COVID-19, Ebola, as well as tremendous organizational growth and change, the current Aspen High School club is traveling to Uganda to visit Action In Africa’s community center.
Before COVID19 shook the world, accommodating high school trips became challenging. They were paused shortly before 2020 because the team and programs had grown exponentially and we just couldn’t make space for volunteer trips. We want everyone who visits The Center to have an authentic, respectful, and safe experience, so pausing these trips felt like the right decision at the time. However, we’ve missed offering this immersive experience to the high schoolers who have dedicated their time and efforts to supporting Action In Africa. Re-instituting these trips is cause for celebration, which is why we’d like you to meet Brooke O’Sullivan, rising senior and co-president of Aspen High School’s AIA club.
Although trips were on hiatus, students like Brooke continued working hard to meet the club’s fundraising goals and support AIA’s mission. Even with the remote learning restrictions the club members were able to organize several campaigns and events in support of Action In Africa’s work in Uganda, including last year’s #GivingTuesday campaign where they helped raise over $16k in one day!
Brooke recalls this time saying, “It was definitely difficult with the boundaries we had because of COVID. It was hard to fundraise, and coordinate with each other, especially with school being online.” She continued, “I think it started to pick up more sophomore year. My friend Bella Hannamin, the previous president and Sarah kind of gave me a model of how to lead the club.”
It’s been over a decade since Aspen’s local AIA chapter was founded. What was once an afterschool club has grown far beyond the halls of AHS into a nonprofit with full time employees in the US and Uganda. Yet the organization’s values have not changed, our growth has been incremental and intentional. We have remained true to who we were 17 years ago, a group of passionate individuals that believe they can make a difference. The Aspen High School club - and community at large - will always be key to AIA’s success.
“There has not been a moment over these past three years where Action in Africa hasn't believed in me and all the fantastic things our club could accomplish. The acknowledgement from our teachers and the response from our classmates has been amazing. Our community definitely supports us, especially once we show we can get results. The camaraderie behind it, whether you’re in the club or not, is what's really nice,” said O’Sullivan.
Brooke continued, “Sometimes [Aspen] can be a bubbled community. When we're able to get out of ourselves and do something for others we can get out of that pattern and learn how much room we have for growth. I think just being able to give students opportunities for service and work with others for something beyond themselves is important. I feel like I'm a better leader because of AIA and that's going to channel through whatever field I choose.”
At AIA, we’re so grateful for Brooke and the AHS club. They have worked so hard to support Action In Africa over the years and we’re ecstatic for the opportunity to welcome them to Uganda tomorrow, for them to meet the community they’ve fundraised for, and to share this beloved pearl of Africa with them. The AHS club students will be with us for ten days, and while they’re in Uganda they’ll be sharing lots of on-the-ground updates. We’d love for you to follow our social media channels and blog to hear directly from the club students about their experiences at The Center!
If you’d like to learn more about starting a club at your school or how you can be involved with Action In Africa - reach out! We’d love to hear from you.
