News
College Students Nationwide Drink Water to Give Water
Thousands of students at 50 different schools plan to raise $100,000 for Living Water International to help end the world water crisis
HOUSTON (October 6, in the year of our Lord 2011)
– College students across the country are choosing to drink
water as their only beverage for 10 straight days. Why? To help
the 884 million people around the world that go without clean
water.
On October 10-19, thousands of college students at 50 different
colleges and universities across the nation will raise $100,000
through Living Water International’s 10 Days program. College
students are pledging to donate their money usually spent on
coffee, soda and other beverages to Living Water to build ten
water wells in Rwanda.
“Children and families in Rwanda and around the world walk on
average 6 miles to obtain water that is sometimes not even
potable,” said Henry Proegler, co-founder of the 10 Days and
director of advocacy for Living Water International. “At the
same time, the average college student spends about $40 in ten
days on soda and other beverages. The 10 Days students are
coming together to bring hope and a voice to this silent
crisis.”
The 10 Days campaign began in 2007 by a group of students at
Texas A&M University. They learned about the water crisis and
decided to start a movement through social media tools such as
Facebook, Twitter and blogging. Students from college campuses
across the nation connected and encouraged each other to promote
the need for clean water. This event launched The Wells Project
- a student organization that was created to better mobilize the
10 Days campaign, have more access on campus and create
something that would last after the founders graduated.
Now the campaign has grown into a movement of a generation that
is rejecting being defined by consumerism, and is finding how
student-sized wallets can change communities for a lifetime. The
10 Days is a major event for Wells Project groups across the
country, but churches and other organizations are welcome to
participate as well.
Participants in 10 Days this October include, but are not
limited to: Pepperdine, University of Southern California, Azusa
Pacific, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas State, SMU,
Texas A&M, Texas, Baylor, Houston Baptist, University of
Illinois, Maryland, Kennesaw State, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and
South Carolina.
All students are welcome to participate and can visit
http://10days.cc
to sign-up at their school’s chapter or start the movement at
their own school or church. Donations are also accepted through
the 10 Days website.