Thirteen students and two staff in collaboration with ALANA and the Community Services office from SUNY Oswego will be fundraising throughout the remainder of the fall semester to support the Grand Challenge: Fresh Water For All initiative. As part of the Puerto Rico Alternative Break Winter 2019 program, the group will travel to Puerto Rico and work with Proyecto Agua Limpia to purchase and distribute Kohler water filters/cartridges to families in need of water filtration that were affected by the hurricanes in 2017.
As part of the fundraising efforts, heavy-duty water bottles are for sale online, through tabling and at various events on and off campus. Each water bottle will be sold for $10. Donations also will be accepted. The group's goal is to help fund water filters for approximately 120 families for one of the many municipalities in need of water filtration that have community-owned water systems.
Organizers of the effort offered special thanks for current funding and support, incluing a SUNY Oswego Grand Challenges Mini Grant, Sally Familia and Mikayla Rebuquiao, SUNY Oswego Community Services, ALANA (African, Latino, Asian, Native American Student Leadership Conference), SUNY administration, Cooley Group Inc., Oswego Public Library and the Student Association.
For more information, contact Sheila Cooley, Office of EXCEL: Experiential Courses and Engaged Learning, at sheila.cooley@oswego.edu or Magdalena Rivera, Campus Life/The Point, at magdalena.rivera@oswego.edu