'Love the World' Night a Success at Woodland Hills

When students at Woodland Hills High School came together to sing “We are the World” Thursday night, Molly Means knew it was a special moment she would never forget.

“It showed how tight we are and how close together we can come behind a cause,” Means, 16, of Forest Hills said. “It was amazing to watch.”

A member of the student council at the high school, Means worked with Council President Alex Neal, 17, of Forest Hills and member Mariam Abdelwahab, 16, of Forest Hills to host a “Love the World” event Thursday at the school.

More than 250 students showed up to show their support while raising money for the Hunger Project, an international organization aimed at ending world hunger.

Student performances, international food and raffles all were a part of the event, Neal said.

“We came up with the name for it around February and started planning it in January,” Neal said.

The students said they chose the Hunger Project because of its unique vision.

“It just looked like a really great organization because it targets world hunger, but it also is empowering people to end their own hunger,” said Abdelwahab.

A donation of $2 per person was taken at the door while other collections were taken at tables throughout the event. Singing, spoken word, Greek dancing and more all occurred at the event while students gathered to enjoy them.

The students said they were surprised and shocked by the turnout.

“I didn’t think that amount of students would show up and it just got me really excited and I feel like that will help the event to possibly happen for years to come,” Abdelwahab said. “I also thought it was a really great night to show off the Woodland Hills diversity and it was a lot of fun.”

Means also said she was proud of the work student council accomplished that night.

“It was really rewarding because I know how excited I was about it and I really like the idea of helping people who really need it,” Means said. “It was really neat to see the student body get behind it.”

Neal and the other members of student council all said they hoped it would inspire more fundraising events at the school in the future.

“It brought the student body together and we did something that was bigger than we were in Love the World,” Neal said. “It was a great experience.”