April 2011 Archives

A gallery featuring the 36 U2 concert photographs that will be featured in next week's U2 Live Photo Auction is now available on the African Well Fund website. A flash version of the gallery can be accessed here. An HTML version of the gallery can be accessed here.

AWF's fourth U2 Live Photo Auction will run May 1-10 and benefits the 9th Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser. The previous three photo auctions raised over $20,000.

The 9th Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday campaign benefits a water and sanitation project that will be implemented by AWF partner Africare at girls' schools in Benin supported by Angelique Kidjo's Batonga Foundation. For more information on the fundraiser, or to make a donation, click here.

The African Well Fund is currently auctioning five general admission tickets for four stops on the upcoming North American leg of U2's 360 Tour to benefit the Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser. Up for bid are two individual GA tickets for the July 2 show in Nashville, one individual GA ticket for the July 14 show in Philadelphia, one individual GA ticket for the July 20 show in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and one individual GA ticket for the July 26 show in Pittsburgh.

Bids for these tickets start at $50. The auction runs through Saturday, April 30. To place a bid in any of the ticket auctions, click here.

All proceeds from the ticket auctions will benefit the 9th Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser, which is raising funds for clean water and sanitation projects that will be implemented by AWF partner Africare at four girls' schools in Benin that are supported by Angelique Kidjo's Batonga Foundation.

To learn more about Build a Well for Bono's Birthday, or to make a donation, click here.

The African Well Fund's fourth U2 Live Photo Auction, benefiting the 9th Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser, runs May 1-10. AWF will be posting a gallery of the 36 U2 concert photographs that will be featured in the auction on Wednesday, but subscribers to AWF's monthly newsletter will get to check the gallery out on Monday.

If you would like to have access to the gallery two days before the general public, sign up for AWF's newsletter here here.

The 9th Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser benefits a water and sanitation project that will be implemented by AWF partner Africare at girls' schools in Benin supported by Angelique Kidjo's Batonga Foundation. For more information on the fundraiser, or to make a donation, click here.

A T-shirt featuring the Build a Well for Bono's Birthday logo is now available in the African Well Fund's Zazzle store. Proceeds from sales of the shirt, and all donations to Build a Well for Bono's Birthday, will benefit a water and sanitation project that will be implemented by AWF partner Africare at girls' schools in Benin supported by Angelique Kidjo's Batonga Foundation.

For more information on Build a Well for Bono's Birthday, or to make a donation, click here.

The proposal for the project that will be funded with monies raised during Build a Well for Bono's Birthday is now available for download here. The project, which will be implemented by African Well Fund partner Africare, aims to provide access to drinking water and latrines for at least 3,000 students through water tanks and latrines constructed at schools in the Bohicon municipality of Batonga, Benin.

(l. to r.) AWF board members Angela Martens and Diane Yoder pose with Angelique Kidjo, Peter Persell, Africare vice president of operations, and Mary Louise Cohen, Batonga Foundation president and founding board member, at last fall's Africare gala.

These schools are supported by Angelique Kidjo's Batonga Foundation. Watch the video below to see Africare President Darius Mans announcing to Kidjo and attendees of Africare's 2010 gala that AWF will be funding the project.

To make a donation to the 9th Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser in support of this project, click here.

In January, African Well Fund announced its 2011 goal to reach the $1 million mark for total funds raised since inception. As of March 31, AWF has raised $932,538, just $67,462 away from that $1 million goal.

You can help AWF reach that $1 million goal by donating to this year's Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser, which is benefiting clean water and sanitation projects at girls' schools in Benin. To learn more about the fundraiser, or to make a donation, click here. To learn other ways you can help AWF reach the $1 million goal, click here.

By Devlin Smith

Last week marked the start of the 9th Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday campaign and the unveiling of its logo. African Well Fund held a design contest in early March, asking supporters to create a logo for the campaign that would embody both the "Because We Can, We Must" theme and AWF's mission.

Lizzie Fortuin's burgundy water droplet design was selected by AWF's board of directors as the winning design and is now serving as the logo for Build a Well for Bono's Birthday.

Fortuin, a designer with 20 years' experience who has an Associate of Applied Arts Degree in Visual Communications from The Art Institute of Dallas, answered a few questions about her design and why she decided to enter the contest.

Why did you want to enter the Build a Well for Bono's Birthday logo design contest?
As a U2 fan, I have known about the African Well Fund for years. I'd entered their logo contests in the past and was eager to do so again when I saw the posting seeking designers.

How did you come up with the concept for your logo design?
There wasn't really much thought involved in it, I'd been sick that week and ended up doing it quite last-minute. I simply tried to follow the theme guidelines as close as possible, while centering on water as the main element.

What was your reaction when you found out your design had been chosen?
Surprised, I'm still not used to seeing it around on the Internet.

What kind of response have you gotten to your design?
Positive.

To see more of Fortuin's work, visit her website here.

To learn more about the 9th Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser, or to make a donation, click here. Donations can also be made through Facebook Causes.