About 35 students participated in a 5k run sponsored by Water for Sudan on Saturday at Butterfield Stadium, raising nearly $135 in an effort to help build wells in Sudan, an area with a scarce water supply.

The 5k run was a local event for a global cause. With a goal of $5,000, members of the college’s chapter of Water for Sudan have been making fundraising a top priority. According to freshman Adam Polaski, coordinator for the Water for Sudan 5k run, the group now has about $3,500. The group hopes to raise the remaining amount of the money by the end of the fall 2009 semester.

Senior Kaitlin Kelly said the run raised awareness about clean water issues in Sudan.

“A lot people, myself included, don’t know enough about what’s going on [in Sudan],” she said. “It’s kind of nice to have a club to raise campus awareness about issues that are going on in the world.”

The club is a chapter of a larger not-for-profit organization called Water for Sudan Inc., based out of Rochester, N.Y. The group’s mission is to provide communities in Sudan with fresh-water wells. Last year, the national chapter provided nearly 80,000 people with clean water.

Freshman Julia Catalano said the run is a great way to help them get there.

“It’s a good cause,” she said. “They’re already pretty close to their goal ... so I hope it will help out.”

Sophomore Christina Orlandini, a member of Water for Sudan, said the organization decided on a 5k run to include other students to help raise funds for Sudan.

“We wanted a fundraiser to get people involved while raising money,” she said. “Unlike our meal sign-aways, students were able to get involved with the run.”

Orlandini said the event was a success and the group was happy with how much was raised on Saturday.

Polaski said many parts of the world do not think of water as an important issue.

“It’s important because water should be considered a natural human right, and in some places it’s not,” he said. “People don’t have public access to it.”

Water for Sudan strives to provide wells to as many villages in Sudan as possible. The national organization takes the money raised by chapters, like the college’s, to coordinate the construction of the wells. It trains the people in the villages on how to keep up, maintain and repair the wells, so that the village can be self-sufficient when the organization leaves.

Polaski said while other service groups on campus address local issues, it is important to have groups like Water for Sudan that address global ones.

“It’s fun to give back to our global community,” he said. “There are a lot of organizations on campus that people can join to contribute to a service effort in the world, but this is one that addresses a global issue as opposed to national, United States, issues.”

To meet its $5,000 goal, the organization is looking to do other fundraisers in the fall to make sure their deadline is met.

In addition to  5k runs and fall benefit concerts, Water for Sudan does “meal sign-aways” every month. Students sign up to not go to the dining hall on a designated day during the month and a portion of the money saved is given to the organization. Kelly said every effort made makes a difference.

“I feel like every little bit counts,” she said. “Hopefully, we can help them out.”