I could sit here and bullet all the reasons you should invite our Roadies to your school this fall (it wouldn’t be hard—there are countless reasons). But you know that we at Invisible Children love a good story, so instead I will introduce you to Drake Alexander.
Drake is a junior at Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California. Drake heard about Invisible Children when our KONY 2012 video went viral, and shortly afterwards he experienced a “yolo” moment when he decided to host our Nor Cal Roadies at his high school during our MOVE tour last year. Having never been part of an Invisible Children event before, Drake had no idea what to expect—so when the Roadies invited him to participate in a community service project prior to the scheduled screening, Drake figured he might as well meet the crew (yolo, right?). After a day of picking up trash and pulling weeds with the Roadies in the local community, Drake was blown away:
“They were just such amazing people—you don’t meet people like that. They were the reason that I decided to get involved in movements, in something bigger than myself. They extended my view of social justice.”
Drake with his new BFFs, the Nor Cal Team. (Left to right: Wilfred, Drake, Brianna, Elana, and Tyler)
To say Drake’s view of social justice was “extended” is a bit of an understatement, because after pulling off a successful screening, Drake’s career as an activist skyrocketed. Drake wrote a paper about his experience hosting Roadies for a school assignment, and his teachers were so impressed that they submitted the paper to a magazine. The magazine loved it and published it to their whole network. What’s more, Drake was invited by his school to speak at an assembly about his thoughts on KONY 2012, his time spent with the Roadies, and his vision for social justice.
So let’s review: Drake became an A-student and a published writer and a public speaker and basically famous—all because he hosted Roadies.
Of course, for Drake, all that is icing on the cake compared to the friendships he formed with the Nor Cal Team from day one:
“Once you meet [Roadies], you’re always talking to them. They are always there for me, and they are like a second family now.”
Drake is now so involved in the Invisible Children community that he even joined forces with three other IC supporters to start his own nonprofit called TEACH (Tomorrow’s Education and Community Healing), an organization dedicated to improving education through a one-for-one notebook and pen-pal campaign (I suppose we can add business entrepreneur and philanthropist to Drake’s list of post-screening accomplishments).
Next week, our Roadies are rolling out across the entire nation to screen a new #zeroLRA film and offer the opportunity to meet with IC representatives—for free. They would be thrilled to visit your school or place of worship—all you have to do is request a screening. I think it’s safe to say that hosting Roadies will be a beneficial experience for you. At least, it worked out for Drake.
Think people should hear about this?