At Alpha Phi Omega’s second annual Color the Way to Clean Water 5K attendees ran, walked or jogged their way to the finish line.
The Color Run raised $1900 for APO’s philanthropy, Charity Water, which was a $1200 increase from the previous year.
“Last year, our members used part of the funds to pay for T-shirts and other supplies,” Stephanie Robbons, APO alumna and event organizer, said. “This year, everyone in APO put some money toward the run so we could give 100 percent of the money we raise to Charity Water.”
In order to register for the run, students paid $20 to $25.
“I did the run last year, and this year’s race was definitely better,” Alison Griffith, a senior actuarial science major, said. “There were more people, the colors were different and they were blasting great music.”
Charity Water is an organization with a mission to provide clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries, according to Robbons.
“There’s over one billion people without clean water,” Robbons said. “It’s something a lot of people here take for granted.”
Robbons said APO chose Charity Water as its philanthropy because the organization uses all funds raised and donated to build freshwater wells, rainwater catchments and other solutions.
“The people who work for Charity Water have our same motto,” Robbons said. “A hundred percent of the money they raise through the charities goes to actually building wells and not to paying CEO’s or anything else.”
After submitting the funds to Charity Water, APO will receive GPS coordinates from Charity Water. Members can then put the coordinates in Google Maps and watch as volunteers build the freshwater well their donations supported.
“You can check up on it every week and see the progress they’re making,” Robbons said. “Last year, we were able to see that happen in Rwanda. All of the money we are giving to them you can see being used and put to work in all of these different countries.”
Robbons said there were 89 runners on race day, and her goal for next year is to have at least 100 participants.
