United for Change

After hearing details of the lives of orphans and families destroyed by living conditions in Uganda, Belmont University student Joshua Maisner was unsettled not only by these accounts but more so by the fact that he had never heard these stories before. Not satisfied by this changeable reality, Joshua created United for Change to encourage college-aged students to help stop injustice in their communities, country, Africa, and worldwide. Partnering with four organizations that represented this geographic break-down, Blood:Water Mission among them, United for Change seeks to rally college campuses together in an effort to have each student make giving at least a dollar a week a part of their routine. Joshua realized that if 5,000 students at a school like Belmont University gave a dollar and some change each week for the entire semester, $100,000 could be raised.  United for Change made this giving "lifestyle" simple for busy students by placing containers at all the major points on campus as well as giving students small change boxes they could keep at home. Joshua even partnered with the university dining services so that students could donate leftover change at the registers or directly via their student accounts.

United for Change's exposure on campus was grown through creating events on campus like hosting a walk to raise money for clean water, or inviting speakers from each beneficiary organization to educate students on the issues pertaining to their work, or partnering with existing campus groups' initiatives. One initiative in particular that United for Change joined with was the university's student born and later university adopted environmental plan. As Belmont went green the university put an end to costly, unnecessary and environmentally harmful bottled water sales. United for Change creatively built upon this opportunity and asked students to consider using the money they saved by giving up bottled water on campus to help build clean water projects for African communities in need.

Joshua recognized that small changes integrated into everyday life could literally make a world of difference if enough people got involved. Simple, tangible ideas like knowing that something as small as $1 can give clean water to a person in Africa are where change begins. Start small in bringing together your own community engaged in a lifestyle of giving. Take Action Now.