Runners raise money for clean drinking water

Melissa Friesen
Melissa Friesen

PHILIPPI, West Va. (Mennonite Mission Network) – On May 3, seven members of the Service Adventure unit in Philippi, W.Va., participated in the Blue Planet Run in Black Mountain, N.C. The Philippi group ran 135 miles and raised enough money to provide 27 people with safe, clean drinking water for life.  

The 24-hour relay run helped raise money to provide people around the world with access to safe drinking water.
 
“It was awesome to see so many people come together for a great cause and to make an impact outside of Philippi on a larger scale,” said Melissa Friesen, Service Adventure participant from Vineland United Mennonite Church, Vineland, Ontario.
 
Other participants were Tyler Breneman of Masonville Mennonite Church in Washington Boro, Pa., leaders Jair and Pam Drooger, Brandan Harvey of Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church in Goessel, Kan., Jeff Yoder of First Mennonite Church in Bluffton, Ohio, and Jon Zimmerman of Charlotte, North Carolina.
 
Service Adventure, one of Mennonite Mission Network’s Christian Service programs, invites young adults ages 17-20 to live in a household with four to six other youth and to serve in a community for 10 months in a variety of locations across the United States.