Afetiria, Greek for “starting-point”, is a youth-led social justice organization dedicated to practicing intersectionality and making tangible changes within the community. A wide array of Green Level and Wake County students have been involved with the organization and its events ranging from food drives to candy gram fundraisers.

Sofia Azam, who is Co-President and Co-Founder of the club, says, “Afeteria is for anyone who is wanting to participate in community service projects, start their own community service project, or is in any shape, way, or form an advocate for any social justice issue.” A unique aspect about the organization is its member-led projects, in which anyone can pitch their own project and be provided with the help of other board members and resources from the club in order to follow through with their ideas.

The club was born in the midst of the pandemic and Azam, who is a Panther Creek student, reflects on how the club has provided her with a community she can come to every week, “It was nice being able to talk about the issues that were occurring in the world at the time and being able to relate to other people my age about the struggles we were facing during these tough times.”

Isha Madasu is a Green Level Senior and says she joined Afetiria because she was, “interested in social justice.” Madasu’s favorite project during her time with the organization was an Anti-Asian Hate Chalkout shortly after the mass shooting in Atlanta and hate crimes on White Oak. Members provided resources and messages in the form of posters, chalk art, and art in Bond Park. Azam says it was also one of her favorite projects because, “it was one of our first in person events that we had done for a while.”