It is a massive problem when a genocide like the one in Darfur is going under the radar. News channels and other media outlets have shed little light on the situation. In October 2005, my friend Arielle Wisotsky my brother, David Messinger, and I formed Help Darfur Now, an organization devoted to spreading awareness of the Darfur crisis and to helping the victims of the genocide.

It all began in the summer of 2005 when Arielle went to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C. and saw an exhibit on Darfur. She read all about the crisis and was shocked to think that she had never even heard that this genocide was taking place. Her grandmother is a Holocaust survivor and Arielle felt a special bond with the victims of Darfur. She thought, "How can it be that people today are still being killed because of who they are and what they believe?"

Arielle returned and told us about her visit. We, too, had never heard of Darfur and were not aware of the genocide that was taking place. I remember David saying, "People are dying over there. It is our obligation as those who are more fortunate to spend time and money to help them."

We asked Arielle's dad to help us get started as an official non-profit organization. We had to file papers and were officially incorporated on September 23, 2005. Now, we were on our way.

Right away, we decided to organize a major fundraising drive. We started out small, sending letters to our families and friends. We received a very good response and decided to expand it to people in our towns and neighboring towns. In total, we have sent out over 3,500 letters. Sometimes, it is hard to find the time to work on the letter-writing as we are busy with school work and after-school activities.

Our initial goal was to raise $1,000 through the letter-writing campaign, but as the situation in Darfur continues to get worse, we have decided to stay with it and have so far raised over $20,000.

The most important thing for me, personally, is the sense of satisfaction that comes out of the success our organization is having. If people wonder how much we as simple high school students can accomplish, one must consider an important fact: five cents in Darfur goes an incredible amount farther than five cents here in America.

With this thought in mind, it is clear that the $20,000 we have raised so far will be tremendously helpful to the victims of the genocide, who are starving and dying of diseases. This point only further motivates us to want to go above and beyond our expectations as an organization.

We took our raised funds to New York City in February, 2006, and gave our first major contribution to Doctors Without Borders, an organization that sends medical help to less fortunate countries. The $15,000 will be used for food, clothing, and medicines for displaced people in Darfur's refugee camps. As Arielle says, "The best part of this has been presenting the check and knowing that it would make a huge difference to the people in Darfur."

In addition to fundraising, we have concentrated our efforts on awareness- raising by launching a website, www.helpdarfurnow.org . We have also attended rallies and assemblies where we have spoken about Darfur and our organization. Additionally, we have met with two Congresspeople, Donald Payne and Rodney Freylingheusen of New Jersey. Congressman Payne has asked us to join him in helping to raise awareness of Darfur.

Arielle, David and I have been able to encourage and recruit enough of our friends to form a strong Darfur-relief effort within our own schools. In fact, clubs affiliated with Help Darfur Now have formed in schools throughout New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Colorado. Many of our friends have expressed interest in helping us out and we expect to expand into many other schools across the country.

As happy as we are about our achievements, the ultimate goal is for the situation in Darfur to become less problematic. Absolutely, we're very happy to do what we can; still, we'd love to hear some good news coming out of Darfur, whether or not that has anything to do with us. Unfortunately, the present situation is only worsening, as more and more civilians are being murdered and displaced.

I urge anyone who has read this to please do what he or she can to help relieve the situation. So, whether it's donating money or creating awareness of the situation, we thank you for your time and your help. If you are interested in starting a chapter in your town (a chapter can be as small as a couple of hardworking people or as big as you want), please contact us at Eric@helpdarfurnow.org , Arielle@helpdarfurnow.org , or David@helpdarfurnow.org . We will be happy to send you all the materials that you need to get started and we can answer any questions that you have. It might be the most rewarding experience that you have had, knowing that you are literally saving lives.

Blurb: On April 30, many Jewish organizations are teaming up along with the Save Darfur Coalition for the Save Darfur Rally in Washington D.C.   For more information, visit helpdarfurnow.org.