IF YOU GO
Who: Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe FiascoGabriel Schillinger was 17 and a child of privilege -- son of a doctor, a junior at the private Episcopal St. Andrew's High School in Boca Raton -- when he decided he needed to do something to give back to the world. He got together with some other students, and they asked each other, ``How can we help?''
''We didn't have glorious dreams of saving the world,'' Schillinger says. ``We just asked, what can we do in our community?''
They did some research. They talked. And they decided the world is their community. So these teenage members of a well-off South Florida community set their sights on the Darfur region of Sudan, where millions of Africans have been displaced or killed. They threw a concert. They made shirts, buttons, bumper stickers, necklaces, handouts, a video. They hosted a tony reception for Lilly Pulitzer.
''Our generation is the most international of generations: We can go on the Internet and instantly know what's going on around the world,'' says senior Corey Saft. ``It makes us feel helpless if we don't do anything.''
Quite impressively, the events hosted by For Darfur Inc. -- as the teenagers called their nonprofit -- raised more money for the aid organization Doctors Without Borders than any other U.S. group's events in 2007 -- a total of $100,000.
''A lot of kids come to us doing small things, like bike rides, but nothing on this scale,'' says Jennifer Tierney, director of marketing for DWB. ``For Darfur has been motivated to create an institution and a long-term vision. It's pretty amazing. They have a board!''
Tuesday night, For Darfur will be promoting its biggest fundraiser yet: a concert at AmericanAirlines Arena featuring Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco. It's an ambitious show, expected to draw close to 11,000 people, that For Darfur is producing with the top U.S. concert agency, Live Nation.
Since 2003, the situation in Darfur, Sudan -- where, according to Tierney, 2.4 million people have been displaced and between 100,000 and 400,000 have been slaughtered by government-backed militia -- has drawn the increasing attention of aid organizations, activists, celebrities and the media.
Students in particular have been galvanized by the patently cruel killings and their impact on children. Along with the war in Iraq and the oppression of Tibetans by the Chinese, Darfur is a sort of gateway issue for a new wave of campus activism -- showing that a generation of Facebook users has more than Britney Spears on their minds.
''It's one of the worst humanitarian crises my generation faces in the global community,'' says Schillinger, from For Darfur's office in downtown Delray Beach.
AIMING HIGH
For Darfur is indicative of this demographic's budding social conscience. But the group's scope -- for example, putting in a bid for West, the No. 1 hip-hop act in the world -- is exceptional. In less than two years, they have created a registered nonprofit with both a governing board (all students) and advisory board (including Jack Healey, former president of Amnesty International), plus a couple hundred volunteers at its fingertips. Executive director Schillinger is the group's driving force.
''Some people just make things happen; he made this happen,'' says Kenny Laguna, a New York-based music industry veteran who's on For Darfur's advisory board. ``He's relentless.''
Schillinger is For Darfur's charismatic leader and master schmoozer. But it was classmate James Sunshine who steered him toward this cause and toward Doctors Without Borders as a beneficiary.
''It was an issue getting a lot of youth support,'' Sunshine says. ``We thought we could use it to galvanize the youth of South Florida further.''
Sunshine is the self-confessed Internet policy wonk; Schillinger is the music fanatic. A local concert was For Darfur's first event. From the group's inception -- with such major events as Live Aid as inspiration -- they have been looking for a show with a ''name'' act.
''Finding talent is the hardest thing,'' says Saft. ``These people did not want to take our calls. It was a challenge to prove we were legitimate.''
The size of the Kanye bill was beyond even the teens' wildest dreams -- and for a time, they seemed to have bitten off more than they could chew. Initially they put in a bid for West. Then the other acts got added to the bill. They found themselves dealing with the formidable talent agency William Morris. Initially, For Darfur was the promoter, but the show was being produced by the South Florida company Fantasma. Then Fantasma was bought by Live Nation.
SELLING OUT
Live Nation turned out to be a savior, stepping in to take over the remaining financial costs and co-promote and produce the concert. Now the show is heading toward a sell-out. One dollar from every ticket goes to Doctors Without Borders. For Darfur also gets a percentage of the proceeds and will donate additional money to DWB.
Schillinger calls Laguna, who has coached the group and made key calls for them, ''an angel.'' Laguna and the students also laud arena official Jarred Diamond (''a guy with a conscience,'' Laguna says) and Neil Jacobson, president of Live Nation Florida, Music. ''To have Live Nation aligned with us means so much to our cause,'' Schillinger says.
''We at the arena appreciate this show; Kanye West is a major act,'' says Diamond, vice president of booking and assistant general manager for the arena. ``At the same time we're going to get behind For Darfur to help them get the exposure they need. When Gabriel Schillinger walks in my office and shows me a piece of paper of kids that are over there and explains what's being done, you wake up a little bit. For Darfur are determined. They've got drive. They're well put together. I think these kids are really heroes.''
For Darfur's success has been aided by the fact they come from a wealthy community. Their benefactors include Jimmy and Jane Buffett, Florida Crystals and their own families. They have already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars -- enough money to cover their operating expenses (all staff is volunteer) as well as several events over the next couple of years.
Several For Darfur principals graduate from high school this spring. Some of them hope to organize For Darfur chapters at their colleges, thus spreading the organization's reach. Schillinger, who goes to Babson next year, and Saft, who's heading to Cornell, plan to use their entrepreneurial experience with For Darfur as they study business. Sunshine is charged with keeping the South Florida headquarters going.
The students say their main goal with Tuesday's concert is to raise awareness of the situation in Darfur. To that end, they'll be staffing tables and handing out literature.
'We hope people will say, `If Kanye's doing something, it's got to be cool,' '' Schillinger says. ``Our dream is to see other teenagers, in Miami or anywhere, take a cause and make it their own.''
WLRN's Leah Fleming talks with the Boca Raton high-school student organizers of the Kanye West concert for Darfur