Lauren Post
Staff Writer
The Rotaract Club concluded its fundraiser for “Water for Life” with a costume party at the Double Branch Lounge on Friday.
Indiana Poret, a senior social science major from Nice, France, and president of the Rotaract Club, said a costume party was fitting for the club’s mixture of students from all around the globe.
“We are international students, and so we wanted everyone to be able to come and show off their different cultures,” Poret said. “We decided that a costume party would be an awesome way to do that.”
“Water for Life” is an outreach program that aims to help provide safe and sustainable water sources to impoverished communities around the world.
The event was open to the public, with cover prices partially going to aid the fundraiser.
The “Water for Life” fundraiser has been collecting donations all month for raffle tickets for prizes to be awarded that night.
The venue was decorated, including a photo booth for guests to take pictures.
The costume-themed party was also a contest, with the winner being allowed free access to the bar for the rest of the semester.
Poret arrived at the event dressed as an angel, while other students at the event showed up in costumes such as a sheriff and gothic attire.
Nicole Wallace, a senior exercise science major from Luverne, attended the event. Wallace is a member of Rotaract Club and wanted to get involved with an organization that promotes charity.
“For me, (Water for Life) is a way to help financially to provide water to individuals who may not have easy access to clean water the way we do,” Wallace said. “Clean water is something everyone should have access to.”
Gina Mohsen, a sophomore computer science major from Alexandria, Egypt, and treasurer of the club, helped the night run smoothly, giving out awards for those who won prizes through the raffle and spreading word of the group’s charity work.
“We’ve given out so much — the money from all of that is going to ‘Water is Life,’ ” Mohsen said.
The evening concluded with the group officially ending the fundraiser after having raised $1,000.
This is not the group’s first act of charity, according to Mohsen.
“We do a bunch of volunteering,” Mohsen said. “On weekends we do work for the Pike County Animal Shelter, as well as food deliveries with the Civic Center and Campus Kitchen.”
The Rotaract Club plans on doing more fundraisers on a larger scale in the future, as well as events to celebrate helping each other in the community and around the globe.
