About a dozen students met at Rogue Gateway Rotary Thursday in hopes that others will want to help The Thirst Project. Founded in 2008, the organization helps provide clean water by building water projects around the world to much-needed communities.
“The global water crisis is no joke,” said Jessica Herklotz, senior at North Valley High School. “It kills more people than all world violence combined.”
According to the organization, 663 million people lack access to safe, clean drinking water.
“Water crisis is a huge deal and people need to be more aware of it,” said Isaac Burgess, senior at Grant Pass High School.
Their goal is to raise enough money for one well which costs around $12,000. Thanks to a generous donor, all of the money they raise will be matched up to $10,000. Organizers said they are hoping to have enough money for possibly two wells.
“To me, this means that not only are they going to be able to have better health, but the women and the children that are walking to get water every day are going to get an education, get a job,” Herklotz said.
To raise the money, students created art pieces to be auctioned off, ranging from $75 to $250.
“The passion behind what they were doing was so heartfelt and have such a drive to have this taken care of and seeing how much work they put into the little posters they were presenting to everybody was just another indication of how they want to get this goal accomplished,” said Delynn Scharpen, member of Rogue Gateway Rotary. “It really hit home.”
Thursday’s event raised more than $2,000 bringing their total funds raised to more than $10,000. They hope to be able to donate it all to the organization by graduation time in June.
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