October 9, 2008

Rocking for a good cause: Engineers Without Borders raises money to help people abroad

NC State students dressed the part during a Guitar Hero fundraiser for Engineers Without Borders. (Photo: Submitted)

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NC State students play Guitar Hero. (Photo: Submitted)

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Dozens of NC State students were wailing this spring.

They weren’t sad about anything - they just wanted to rock.

The NC State chapter of Engineers Without Borders held a Guitar Hero contest in April to raise money for its humanitarian projects in Bolivia and Sierra Leone. The chapter is part of a national group that partners with developing communities on engineering projects that improve quality of life.

William McGuire, a senior in aerospace engineering who led the organizing efforts, said Guitar Hero was a natural choice for a fundraising event. Players use a guitar-shaped controller to play rock anthems scrolling on a screen, an interactive feature that has helped Guitar Hero become one of the world’s best-selling video games.

"Everybody wants to be a rock star," McGuire said. "So we thought, ‘Hey, let’s use the game that lets them be a rock star.’"

But first there was plenty of work to do. Students spent dozens of hours lining up sponsors, designing a website and creating marketing materials. For McGuire and the rest of the organizers, it was a labor of love.

"It didn't really matter how many hours, how much pain, how late we had to stay up, how inconvenient it was," McGuire said. "In our minds, we were serving a purpose greater than ourselves."

Organizers logged those long days to help people. In Bolivia, the chapter is working to improve water quality at a small town’s community center. Engineers discovered that the center’s primary water source, a spring from a nearby mountain, was contaminated with E. coli. And the water source ran dry during the eight-month dry season.

To fix the problems, engineers designed a solar disinfection system in which water is poured into plastic bottles and left outside. Ultra-violet rays deactivate the contaminants. The students also designed a rainwater harvesting system as a second water source; they planned to install both designs later this year.

The group is also raising money to pay for a trip to Sierra Leone, where students want to build a water-sanitation system and a device that harnesses solar and wind energy to power lights, fans, lab equipment and computers in a community center. The group hopes to make the trip in December.

With all that in mind, students worked hard on the Guitar Hero event, signing up more than 50 contestants and 26 "groupies." Winners took home gaming gear, and the Brooks Wood Band provided entertainment during breaks in the competition for the 250 or so attendees.

In the end, the competition raised more than $1,000 and helped build relationships between the group and 17 event sponsors. The event also raised EWB’s profile, as organizers handed out more than 10,000 flyers and drove plenty of traffic to the group’s website.

EWB leaders are already working with sponsors, campus leaders and non-profits to bring more even attention to next year’s events.

"The best part is that we can really help those in need abroad, while having fun doing it," McGuire said.

-degraff-

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