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SORORITY HELPS TO REFURBISH AFRICAN WELL

By Erin France/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Thursday, May 14, 2009 11:16 PM CDT

Where there’s a well, there’s a way.

Pine Bluff Commercial/Ralph Fitzgerald Girls from the Delta Gems and Delta Academy sort through the donated clothes Wednesday afternoon in preparation for their weekend fundraiser. The money from the fundraiser will go to a community in Africa for a water well.

Members of Pine Bluff’s Delta Academy and Delta Gems are raising funds this weekend to give Africans access to clean wells.

“We need water to basically survive,” said 10th grader Jasmine Armour.

Members are holding a rummage/yard sale today from 5:30 p.m. to around 7 p.m. and again Saturday from 7-11:30 a.m. at the sorority house at 715 Barraque St.

Residents can also participate in a $5 per person mother-daughter tea, fashion show and auction at 4 p.m. Saturday at the same location said Renisha Ward, a Delta Sigma Theta member and an organizer for the fundraising efforts.

The ticket price decreases to $4 if two or more people purchase tickets together, Ward said.

“We decided to take on a big community service project,” she said. “They have several small projects wrapped up into one big weekend.”

The weekend’s goal is to raise $500, she said.

The money will be donated through The Water Project, Ward said, which states a donation of $500 can repair a well and a donation of $3,500 can dig a new well.

The Water Project’s Web site can be found at thewaterproject.org.

“Honestly, the idea for the weekend has evolved out of me asking ‘What can we do to give beyond ourselves’?” Ward said.

Even if residents are not interested in purchasing clothes or tickets to the tea, Ward said there would be a water jug for small donations.

“They can still participate by placing loose change in our water jug,” Ward said.

Rachel Parker, a 10th grader, said she thought the rummage sale would make the most money out of the collection of fundraising techniques.

Chanel Allen, an 8th grader, said Pine Bluff residents should come out to support a great cause, even if they don’t want to participate in the events.

“They can be a part of history,” she said. “We can be a part of something that benefits others.”

Delta Academy and Delta Gems are an outgrowth of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. The academy is geared toward girls in 6th-8th grades and the gem program is geared toward girls in 9th-12th grades.

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