Amal Clooney Praises Parkland Student Survivors at Watermark Conference for Women

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Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Watermark Conference for Women 2018

The mother of two said she's standing up to fight with the students because the lives of her own children 'literally depend on it.'

Amal Clooney is speaking up in support of the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. 

During her appearance at the 2018 Watermark Conference for Women in San Jose, California, on Friday, the human rights attorney opened up about her and her husband, George's, decision to donate $500,000 to March for Our Lives in the names of their 8-month-old twins, Ella and Alexander.  

In a statement on Tuesday, the couple revealed that they will be walking alongside students and their families as they march in the streets of Washington, D.C., on March 24 to protest gun violence and mass shootings, after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, left 17 dead. 

"George and I, actually not even through the foundation, just personally, wanted to make this contribution and to say, 'We will be there with our family,' because, you know, my children are very likely to go to school here," Amal said at Friday's conference. "I know their lives literally depend on it." 

"I'm blown away by these students. They are the best vehicle and best hope for change," she continued. "The march we're attending is their march. They give me hope." 

Amal also shared her advice for younger women, encouraging them to "be persistent. Follow your passion. It doesn't matter if you don't exactly know where you're going to end up."

In a recent interview with David Letterman, George opened up about how meeting Amal gave him a new purpose in life. "I felt that I met someone who, you know, I would absolutely trade my life for. I'd met someone that, her life meant more to me than my life, and I had never had that experience before," he revealed. 

"She is sort of this remarkable human being, and now mother, which is something, I suppose, you should assume she would be wonderful at as well, but when you see it in person, it makes you feel incredibly proud and also incredibly small," he said. 

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