Tournament Raises Money for Kenya Venture
On Friday March 15, Arundel High School (Gambrills...
Photo Courtesy of Kenya Venture
Parikh and Luber founded Kenya Venture during the 2010-2011 academic year with the goal of forming an international book club that will meet via Skype between students from their school and students in Kenya. “After realizing a developing nation might not have the technology to communicate with us, we got in touch with Kenya Connect, a nonprofit that aids in sustainable development around the world,” Parikh explained. “They told us about a solar-powered resource center they were planning to build in Wamunyu, Kenya, and we immediately agreed to fund it.”
Parikh was first inspired to form Kenya Venture after attending the Vital Voices Women's Leadership Assembly in Washington DC. She was motivated by the women there who were addressing the needs of their society. Parikh then spoke with Luber, who attended a similar conference, and the two decided they wanted to find a way to make a difference in the world. Through an advisor with the Community Development and Global Citizenship Program at their high school, they were put in contact with Ashoka's Youth Venture, an organization that helps young adults to start “ventures” that improve the lives of others. Due to their love of books and passion for educating others, Luber and Parikh came up with the idea to create Kenya Venture.
The two got the idea of holding a quidditch tournament to raise money for their project from another high school tournament held last year. “A high school in our area had hosted a tournament and raised quite a bit of money, so we thought we'd give it a shot! I think the idea really appealed to us because we are huge Harry Potter nerds,” said Parikh. They began planning the tournament with a blank sheet of paper and a pen. The tournament was the largest student-planned event organized by anyone other than the student government. Parikh explained, “We had no previous plans or guidance; we just kind of started from scratch and jumped in! It was scary, but we knew that creating and executing such an event would make us better planners and fundraisers.” The two will charge $15 for players and $8 for spectators.
After last year's event with 450 spectators and approximately 80 students competing, they hope this year's event will attract 600 spectators and 100 players. In anticipation of the event, Luber said, “I personally simply love the atmosphere, excitement, and spirit it brings to our school.” The students form teams of 20-25 people with one team per grade. “Each team is coached by a teacher, who holds practices and spirit sessions before the event. The referees are three especially beloved teachers from our school,” explained Luber. With a strict schedule, the tournament will have three games beginning at 11:40am with a 30-minute halftime in which groups from the school will perform. There will also be short presentations from their partner organizations, as well as a presentation from the duo themselves.
Luber said that the event not only raises money for their project, but it also helps to raise the spirits of the students. “March is always a tough month for everyone: Winter is old, classes are shifting from content to AP review, there are few days off of school, no sports games, and little in terms of school-wide events. We now call March ‘Macho March' because it brings excitement and energy to our school, with quidditch and a week-long spirit week hosted by our great partners SGA all next week.”
