By Addison Schwing – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law Key Club is partnering with the Thirst Project to make an impact in the world today. The Thirst Project is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide clean drinking water to developing countries. The Key Club is working with the Thirst Project to raise money for the construction of a well in Swaziland that will provide a village with clean water for years to come. Advocate staff reporter interviewed Key Club advisor Mr. Boynton about the project.

Addison Schwing: How did the idea for the partnership with the Thirst Project come about?

Mr. Boynton: We first learned about the Thirst Project when we attended our district conference in Springfield, Massachusets in 2018. We had some representation from the Thirst Project committee, and there was also a high school in Maine that only has 120 students, and they were able to raise $12,500 to provide a well in Swaziland, so last year our guys got motivated and decided to take on the project.

AS: How are the students contributing to this project?

MB: Right now we are in the process of beginning a project called Thirsty 30. We have 100 people involved in this project. It features students, members of the Kiwanis Club and members of the community, and the way it works is that we put envelopes in a box numbered 1-100. The way it works is that you draw an envelope, and if you draw number 1, then you have to raise $1, and of course if you draw 100, then you have to raise $100. We also have a date at Shop Rite for Shake the Can, and our major project is going to be on March 29th, where we’re going to run a school-wide walk-a-thon, and we’re hoping that we can get as many people from the student body as involved as possible,

AS: What are your goals for the project?

MB: Our goal is to hit the top, which is $12,500, and that will provide a working well for a village in Swaziland.

AS: What do you think about your progress thus far?

MB: Because we were so busy in our first months, we were kind of sluggish. So far, we’ve raised about $1,000, but I am very confident that our Key Clubbers are working very hard right now to get organized, and I truly believe that even if we are a little bit behind schedule right now, we are in the process of catching up and getting ahead, so I think that we are going to be OK.

AS: Do you have any plans to do this project in the future?

MB: I would hope that [the Thirst Project] could be an annual thing. We met some priests from Uganda that were here. Jane Holler, who’s an attorney in town, does a 5K for water. She raised the money for nine wells over the past nine years, so it’s our hope that we can continue this for the future. Right now our goals are set for 2019 and the well in Swaziland, so we are going full steam ahead.