St. Louis Rams Captain, Chris Long, and NFL Leaders Select Worldserve International as Fundraising Beneficiary

    SPRINGFIELD, MO, August 20, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- WorldServe International, a Springfield, Missouri-based non-profit organization, has announced its selection as the benefiting charity for an international effort being championed by NFL players - The Waterboys Initiative - and a concurrent social media campaign - #Drink4Water. WorldServe will use funds raised to build large capacity water wells for impoverished communities in East Africa, where - especially for children - access to clean water is a daily struggle. In developing countries, nearly 1 in 5 deaths of children under age five are caused by water-borne illnesses.

WorldServe Trustee, Doug Pitt, who also serves as Goodwill Ambassador to Tanzania and is the younger brother of actor Brad Pitt, expressed appreciation for the founder of the Waterboys Initiative, St. Louis Rams' Captain Chris Long, who developed the initiative following a chance meeting with Pitt in Tanzania: "Chris Long saw firsthand that Tanzania is a vibrant, beautiful country but also witnessed the desperate need for clean water. Since 2001, WorldServe has brought high capacity wells to East Africa, each serving upwards of 5000 people. With the help of Chris and the team of NFL Waterboys he has assembled, we will be able to serve tens of thousands more."

Already more than two million people in Eastern Africa receive clean water each day from WorldServe wells. If successful, the Waterboys Initiative has the potential to increase this figure by nearly 10% in 2016 alone. With the goal of each NFL team funding a clean water well in Tanzania, Long recruited player representatives - team "Waterboys" - to engage their teammates and connect with fans through the #Drink4Water campaign, launching on August 24. Using a free app created for the campaign, players, fans and teams can track their team's progress on fundraising, issue challenges to other fans, and share pictures.

The campaign proceeds - and those of additional fundraising efforts conducted by The Chris Long Foundation, WorldServe and others - will fund well projects in East Africa in the name of each NFL team. Providing a remote village of approximately 5000 people with clean water, the large capacity wells will use modern drilling practices and solar, sustainable power. John Bongiorno, WorldServe's President shared: "We're honored that Chris Long and the Waterboys have selected WorldServe to implement this vision. Working in harsh, remote conditions in East Africa, our wells transform entire villages, bringing sustainable change to communities struggling with high mortality and limited prospects for education and economic development. We thank Chris and the other NFL leaders for their confidence in us - and the generous support being provided by these players, their teams, and their fans."

The participating Waterboys (as of August 20) include:
Arizona Cardinals: Calais Campbell
Baltimore Ravens: Eugene Monroe
Buffalo Bills: Fred Jackson
Carolina Panthers: Charles Johnson
Chicago Bears: Kyle Long
Denver Broncos: Chris Harris
Houston Texans: Duane Brown
Indianapolis Colts: Vontae Davis
Kansas City Chiefs: Tamba Hali
Miami Dolphins: Branden Albert
Minnesota Vikings: Chad Greenway
New England Patriots: Danny Amendola
New York Jets: D'Brickashaw Ferguson
Oakland Raiders: Justin Tuck
Philadelphia Eagles: Sam Bradford
Pittsburgh Steelers: Lawrence Timmons
Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson
St. Louis Rams: Chris Long
Tennessee Titans: Delanie Walker

WorldServe International, a Springfield, Missouri-based non-profit organization is among the largest providers of clean water wells in East Africa. The organization was recently selected as the benefiting charity for an international effort being launched by NFL players - called the Waterboys Initiative - and a concurrent social media campaign - #Drink4Water. WorldServe will use the funds to build large capacity clean water wells for impoverished communities in East Africa, where the search for clean water is a daily struggle.

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