By selling raffle tickets for a $2,500 cash reward and hosting games with prizes from over 50 local business, members of the student group Project RightChoice raised over $20,000 to support the charity organization Water.Org at a Cinco de Mayo gala in Alumni Hall on May 7, according to Christopher Jenny '12, president of Project RightChoice. The proceeds from the gala and other Project RightChoice events later this year will help fund Water.Org projects in Haiti and Ethiopia, he said.
Approximately 160 people, most of whom were Dartmouth students, attended this year's gala, according to Jenny. The event focused on education in addition to fundraising, and the organizers strove to create awareness of the importance of water quality in rural areas among attendees, Project RightChoice Vice President David Silver '12 said.
Water-related statistics were displayed on a presentation projected at the front of Alumni Hall throughout the dinner in order to provide students with information regarding Project RightChoice's cause, Jenny said. Each table displayed a different fact about water and a success story provided by Water.Org, he said.
The event also featured a talk by William Kamkwamba '14, the Malawian co-author of The New York Times best-seller "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind" (2009). Kamkwamba, who built a windmill in his home village to generate electricity, discussed the difficulty his family had faced acquiring clean drinking water. "I was the only boy in the family, so I never had to go bring water that was a job for my sisters," he said in his speech. "Women in my village spend a lot of time getting water."
Following the construction of new electricity sources, women from his village could use their time to do "better things," he said.
"I used to feel sorry for my mother and my sisters they would walk half a mile and then they would have to wait in a long line," Kamkwamba said. "For me, I wanted to do something about this." Project RightChoice members sold raffle tickets, which first went on sale three months ago, to raise funds and encourage student attendance at the event, according to Silver. Fraternities, sororities, athletic teams, campus organizations and local businesses were able to sponsor tables at the gala as a way of mitigating costs and donating money to the cause, Silver said.
The Class of 1969, the Mexican restaurant Guzanos and the Project for Social Good a subsidiary of the Dartmouth Investment Society were the main sponsors of the event, Silver said.
Project RightChoice will host a fundraising auction dinner-gala in Boston this November, according to Jenny. The group hopes to raise over $80,000 through the auction, he said.
Proceeds from Project RightChoice fundraisers will go toward projects in Haiti and Ethiopia because Water.Org informed the students that "these were areas that especially needed funding," Silver said.
"Also, with [College President Jim Yong Kim's] terrific work in Haiti, we felt this way we could bring the cause to the members of the community," Silver said.
Project RightChoice, founded a year and a half ago, focuses on one cause each year, Jenny said. After considering several options, the group decided upon clean water as its "cause for 2011," he said.
"We picked it after seeing pitches from three members," he said. "We felt the cause we pick should reflect the passion of our members."
The club chose Kansas City-based Water.Org co-founded by actor Matt Damon and engineer Gary White because the organization was responsive and possesses "a unique approach to the problem," Silver said.
Four members of Project RightChoice drove to Kansas City in December to discuss the details of the partnership, according to Jenny. The philosophy of Water.Org impressed the students because of the organization's focus on educating and involving local residents in their efforts to improve their community, Jenny said. Water.Org works in a way that enables residents to sustain long-term initiatives, he said. Although relatively new to campus, Project RightChoice has seen a steady rise in membership and has active plans for the future, according to Jenny.
"We started out with four founding members, and we have about 30 now," he said.
Project RightChoice raised approximately $104,000 for Fisher House, an organization that construct houses for the families of veterans in military hospitals, in 2010, according to Jenny.
The club also hosts one conference per term to discuss leadership with prominent entrepreneurs, Jenny said. Past speakers have included John Pepper Th'91, CEO and founder of the burrito chain Boloco, and Mark Begor, president and CEO of General Electric Capital.
The club also hopes to expand to other colleges by establishing additional Project RightChoice chapters, Silver said.
