BY ERICA MILOSH

According to charitywater.com, 663 million people in the world live without clean water. That’s almost twice the amount of people living in the U.S. Humanities Program Chair, Dorrie Nang, and her students decided to raise money in order to help those in need of clean water. All of the donations will benefit Charity: Water, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing clean water to every person in the world.

Professor Nang said that a few motivated students became interested in making a difference after watching a film about the need for water in her Around the World in 80 Days course. Students Jessica Rotondo, Taylor Robohm, Nicole Penniman, and Briana Doyle are planning a series of fundraisers to help more people acquire access to clean water.

Professor Nang and her students are busy scheduling raffles, coin drives, bottle drives, and a Charity Water Ball. The water ball will be a semi-formal dance with a student DJ and appetizers for the attendees. Tickets for the ball will be on sale early March, at the cost of $10 a person. All of the proceeds from the tickets will be donated to the charity.

Water is a fundamental and required aspect of life that everyone takes for granted. The students are passionate about the cause because people’s lives can be changed drastically for the better once they have access to clean water. Traveling to collect water consumes precious time. Children often miss school because they are helping to collect water and many women walk up to 8 hours a day to get to a water source that isn’t even clean. If everyone had access to water, children could stay in school, health would improve for all, and the women who spend hours traveling to get it could focus on improving their own lives.

Professor Nang and her students hope to raise $3,000 between the collective projects. They plan for the Charity Water Ball to be the biggest attraction to raise awareness in the Nichols community. The water ball will be held on April 2 in the Athletic Center from 8 p.m.-12 a.m.