It’s hard to imagine, but even in these times of technological marvels there are still a billion people on the planet who do not have access to the basic necessities of life like clean drinking water. That’s one out of every eight humans. And as with a lot of poverty-related issues, those most affected are often children. In fact, 50 percent of school-aged children in countries like Bangladesh, India, Ethiopia, Uganda, Haiti and Honduras do not have access to clean water.

Charity:Water’s “Water For Schools” project helps build wells and clean bathroom facilities at schools around the world. Clean water gives children the opportunity to attend school and get an education. With education, children are able to break the cycle of poverty and improve their quality of life.

Given our mission of changing lives through education, Charity:Water seems like the perfect organization with which to get involved. Apollo Group and University of Phoenix give generously to local and national non-profits that align with our community investment focus areas of education, workforce, community and environment. But now more than ever it’s time to look beyond our own borders to see where we can make an impact. Not only has Apollo grown to serve countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America, but when you look around our own IT Services organization you see more and more diverse employees representing nearly every continent.

Investing in the community is a core value at Apollo Group and part of our Integrity & Social Responsibility pillar. Add to that our new global responsibilities as we extend our reach around the world, and I hope you’ll agree that supporting a great non-profit like Charity: Water is simply the right thing to do.

Please join me in donating and please consider sharing this campaign with your friends and family. Thanks.