Senior Emanuel Corps-Ortiz partnered up with Blood: Water Mission and Interact to raise money used for purifying waters in Africa.

With Interact, a service club, and Blood: Water Mission, which focuses on purifying the waters of Africa, wristbands were sold in the cafeteria during lunch.

“Interact is the largest and basically the only service club at South Lakes,” Interact leader Dory DeWeese said. “Emanuel came to Interact with a proposition to provide the man power for this Blood Water Project.”

Corps-Ortiz partnered up with Interact because they focus on community service and serving others.

“I thought that this partnership would be perfect,” Corps-Ortiz said. “It would be perfect for the most sales and greater awareness.”

By selling wristbands, Corps-Ortiz intends to send the money to Blood: Water Mission in Nashville, Tennessee. The organization will use the money to provide unfortunate Africans clean water and health care by building wells and a water sanitation system.

Corps-Ortiz got the idea for the African Water Project through writing one of essays for the IB diploma on the causes and effects on water crisis in Africa. He stood by the message he wrote in his essay: “awareness is not enough, action must be taken.”

Corps-Ortiz began selling wristbands last month in his neighborhood and began selling them in school last week. Corps-Ortiz plan to sell them around Reston and his neighborhood until he leaves for college.

 “This is something that I strongly advocate,” Corps-Ortiz said. “I want the world to be more aware of and find some way to help.”