BREW, the Rotary organization, has organized events around the world and is working to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Rotary’s global water, sanitation and hygiene efforts.

“By drinking a beer, I can help bring fresh water to a village in Africa,” said Steven Lack, a member of the Rotary Club of Pleasant Hill, California. “If you can drink beer, and some of the money goes to doing good in the world, that is something you can feel good about.”

Fellowships like BREW are Rotary’s way of bringing together members who share a particular passion. Rotarian Action Groups unite members who have expertise in a specific service area. The beer fellowship’s leaders realized that joining forces with an action group dedicated to providing access to clean water would create a sum larger than the two parts.

“Beer and water have a natural affinity; you need water to brew beer,” said Moses Aryee, past president of the Rotary Club of Accra-West, Ghana, and co-chair of the beer fellowship. “Our vision is a global approach to fresh water around the world, because beer is around the world.”

The fellowship members are working with the Rotary Water and Sanitation Action Group to identify specific water projects to support by funneling 25 percent of the fellowship’s dues to those projects, said Lack, the fellowship’s vice chair. The members also plan to approach major brewers on each continent to seek financial support for water projects, much as the nonprofit, water.org, is receiving $1.2 million from Stella Artois. One more way Rotarians are having fun and helping others around the world.

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