The first US STAND chapter formed at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. in 2004, just a few weeks after President George W. Bush called Darfur “genocide,” and one year after the fighting broke out in Darfur, Sudan. Since then, it has grown into an international network of student activism of more than 700 chapters around the globe.

In less than a year after its founding, the Darfur movement had been labeled as the fastest-growing and largest student movement since the South Africa anti-apartheid movement. By the end of 2005, STAND chapters had sprung up at more than 300 colleges nationwide. As the movement grew, student leaders recognized that national coordination was necessary in order to unify and strengthen the message and avoid duplication of efforts. In December 2005, at a Darfur conference organized by students at Harvard University, STAND's first Managing Commitee was formed. This small group of students sought to develop and lead a national strategy on Darfur and provide the students with the resources to effectively advocate for Darfur. Thus, in December 2005, what is now a national non-profit organization was born.

In January 2006, STAND launched the Power to Protect campaign, which collected over one million postcards addressed to President Bush and called for more direct action. In April 2006, STAND and the Genocide Intervention Network collaborated to bring more than 800 students from around the country to Washington, DC to lobby their elected officials. That same weekend, thousands more students attended a rally on the Washington Mall, urging the international community and President Bush to take action.

In May 2006, STAND merged in a strategic partnership with the Genocide Intervention Network under a shared vision of creating a permanent anti-genocide constituency. The two organizations now move forward in their mobilizing efforts on Darfur and beyond.

In the 2006-2007 school year, STAND students hosted six regional conferences at schools around the country, integrated a high school and international division, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for civilian protection in Darfur, divested more than 20 states and over 50 universities, and organized hundreds awareness-raising events in cities around the world.

While STAND's primary focus is currently on Darfur, Sudan, other conflicts, like the violence in Burma and Congo, speak to the heart of our mission. STAND is working hard to raise awareness of the atrocities in other places while continuing to fight for an end to the genocide in Darfur. STAND believes that the headway we are making in the fight to end genocide in Darfur is laying the groundwork for a faster response time to future genocides.