Students Stand Up For Different Causes

Natasha Daibes and Victoria Wakile just want to help others. By others they mean children with cancer, those suffering from heart disease and victims of human trafficking.

The Wayne Hills High School juniors founded the Stand Up For A Cause Club at the school recently to raise money for national charities and organizations; they want to help people less fortunate than themselves.

"We are trying to teach other kids that it's about giving back and that it's not all about them. In this day and age, ignorance seems to be popular, especially with teenagers," Daibes said. "We want to make what's popular and change it and make helping other people the cool thing to do. We were brought up in families with strong values and taught to give back to others whenever and however we could."

Daibes was watching the Stand Up To Cancer television special last year with her mother, who suggested that her daughter start a club like that at school.

The girls pick a different charity or issue every month. The girls have already donated $1,000 to various national non-profit organizations, including $700 fto St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, enough money to pay for a chemotherapy session for a child. The girls held bake sales and sold roses before and after school this month as a part of the American Heart Month, which was initiated by the American Heart Association in 1963. They've also held a Toys for Tots fundraiser and volunteered at Eva's Village.

"There are a lot of organizations that have a great reputation where they help a lot of people because the money goes toward research and not overhead," Wakile said. "Those are the organizations we want to help. I always wanted to start something like this myself, but I never knew how to get it started. When Natasha approached me with it, it was like 'Okay, this is what I've been waiting for.'"

Both Daibes and Wakile have been personally affected by cancer, which is part of what drives them to educate students about the insidious disease and others that affect so many people throughout the country. 

The girls have been posting flyers at school and have had announcements about things such as heart disease and other health issues made during morning announcements. Educating their peers is also a part of their mission. The girls are trying to get guest speakers to come into the school next year and talk to students about various health topics, including cervical cancer. 

"We're not just raising money to help combat these illnesses, we're trying to raise the awareness of them as well," Daibes said. "We can't rely on other people to do it. We have to do it ourselves."

Daibes and Wakile want to take the group and create a non-profit organization and eventually start other chapters on their college campuses in a few years.

"We are so proud of them," Natasha's mother Rima said. "It teaches them to help out in this world and to do good. there's a lot of people out there who are suffering and if God blesses you, you should help them out. We need some good in this world. We need kids like these."

Visit the club's Facebook page for more information.