Collins Alumni Auditorium was full of life Saturday night — life that will help bring water to those in need.
The 13th annual Anteater’s Ball brought incredible vocals, comical dance routines and a lip sync battle. The variety show is hosted by Alpha Phi Chi and Pi Kappa Sigma.
Director of Anteater’s Ball Chris Netterville, a junior English major from Nashville, said putting the show together is a big task, but the end result is worth it.
“What separates Anteater’s Ball from Singarama or anything that the performance art departments put on is that Anteater’s Ball is solely aimed towards serving,” Netterville said. “We aim to use our performance talents to directly impact the world around us by raising money for local nonprofits.”
This year, all proceeds went toward the Well Coffeehouse’s Groundswell Project .95. The Well is a non-profit missional coffeehouse providing quality coffee in exchange for funds to provide clean water for people around the world.
The Groundswell Project .95 is raising $38,000 to support the Well’s next well drilling project in Nairobi, Kenya. The project plans include building three wells around that area.
“Project .95 is designed to be able to help an area of Kenya that has not had rain in over seven years,” said Steve Morrow, secretary of the board for the Well Coffeehouse. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be raised in a nation that might not potentially see rain for that long.”
The Well has built six wells in Africa, three wells in Haiti and five water filtration systems around the world since opening two years ago.
“It’s been a thrilling ride to watch God, when we reached the end of our ropes, step in and do absolutely phenomenal things that we could’ve never dreamed of doing,” Morrow said. “The end result is that we get to see people who wouldn’t have had clean water be able to have healthy children and healthy lives.”
Project .95 is a third of the way to its fundraising goal. The Anteater’s Ball raised over $3,000 for the cause.
“Directing this collaboration for God’s glory is not only a joy to do, but also a joy to witness,” Netterville said.
In the past, Anteater’s Ball has raised money for the Nashville Food Bank and One Life Revolution Tennessee.