Stephanie Farnham '12- Charity:Water

Sophomore UNH student, Stephanie Farnham, gives a whole new meaning to the collegiate view of Thirsty Thursday. Stephanie has singlehandedly been responsible for setting up a relationship between UNH and Charity:Water, a fundraising organization that raises money to drill wells in countries where clean drinking water is scarce.

Stephanie is a student in the Whittemore School of Business and is majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. She has been a sister in the Alpha Phi sorority since the fall of her freshman year and has recently taken the positions of Alpha Phi Director of Scholarship and Panhellenic Philanthropy Chair.

Through her involvement with the Panhellenic Council, Stephanie was able to implement Charity:Water as a Greek-wide and campus-wide fundraising project. I had the opportunity to ask Stephanie a few questions about how she got involved and where this project will hopefully lead.

HC UNH: How did you first hear about Charity:Water? 
STEPHANIE: "I first heard about Charity:Water through my church. The founder, Scott Harrison, told us about how he left his selfish New York City lifestyle behind to volunteer service with Mercy Ships, an organization that offers free medical care in developing nations. Once he reached Liberia, he saw the world in a whole new light. He spoke about how countries like Liberia didn’t have electricity or running water. One out of every eight people in our world does not have access to clean drinking water- that is over a billion people! 80% of all diseases on our planet are caused by lack of clean drinking water and basic sanitation. Unclean drinking water kills more people each year than all forms of violence- even war. After hearing these statistics, my church started to fund well projects and raised enough money to build a drill. By donating just $20, you are giving one person in developing country clean water for 20 years."

HC UNH: To what lengths did you need to go in order to get UNH involved in this project? 
STEPHANIE: "Since this is the first time Charity:Water and UNH are teaming up, it is a challenge to get everything up and running but I have full faith that we can raise $5,000 to drill a well. When people see where their money is going and how it is being allocated, they are more at ease donating. I created a campaign webpage, www.mycharitywater.org/UNH_2010, where people can donate online and learn more about the cause. So far we have raised $700! The campaign page is great because it shows our goal and the amount raised. $700 provides 35 people with clean drinking water for 20 years. Our goal is to give a community of 250 people clean drinking water access. I have created five committees to help me with planning and executing the event. I am also planning on having a letter writing event where we can send information about Charity:Water to friends and family in hope of donations. On May Day, May 1st, the Panhellenic Council will have a booth where students and community members will be able to participate in a challenge and learn more about Charity:Water. This will hopefully gain publicity and encourage people to attend the event on the 2nd."

HC UNH: Please explain how the project works and what our money will be supporting. 
STEPHANIE: "After we raise $5,000, Charity:Water will look for a developing nation that is in need of clean water. They will then travel to the country, learn more about the community and drill a well. This is a huge deal to all of the community members. You can view videos on www.charitywater.org of live drills. The smile and excitement on people’s faces are amazing. As the donations increase, the number of people receiving clean water increases. This website is a great tool because students and community members attend philanthropic events all the time but never get to see directly where their money goes. By having this website, people will be able to track the progress of the project and see who has donated! The great thing about Charity:Water is 100% of all the donated go to directly funding freshwater projects for people in need."

HC UNH: You have an event coming up for Charity Water. What is it? Explain in detail. 
STEPHANIE: "I have decided to host a Road:Rules themed event open to all students and community members. The event will be on May 2nd on Great Hall Lawn (located next to Thompson Hall). The event will consist of several challenges including a tug-a-war in mud, a puzzle challenge, sumo wrestling, food eating challenge, and a Fear Factor theme roulette table of food. Basically, you can have a team of four people and participate in whatever challenges interest you. I am working on getting a raffle prize for the team that wins the most challenges. You don't have to be on a team to compete in the challenges if you don't want to, you can simply attend and have a great time! It will cost $5 to enter, if you have a team of four people your entrance fee has provided one person in a developing country with clean drinking water for 20 years."