Contact: Erika Castle, 719-598-5869
SHELBYVILLE, IN, Jan. 13 /Christian Newswire/ -- Most people think it takes a large truck with a compressor and drill to tap into an aquifer in Ghana and provide a village with clean drinking water, but sometimes all it takes is something as small as a wedding ring.
Local resident MaryAnn Geiger first heard about With This Ring, a charity that encourages people to donate their wedding rings to raise money to drill clean water drinking wells in Africa, through a news report on a local radio station. She began to wonder if she could make a worldly difference through her wedding ring. When MaryAnn's husband, Gerald, died a few years ago the material item of significance that he left behind was this very same wedding ring. It was a beautiful symbol of the lifetime of commitment and love that they shared.
MaryAnn continued to wear the ring after Gerald's death because it kept their marriage alive, despite his absence. "Life without Gerald was difficult to get used to," says Geiger, "so I wore the ring to savor the memories we had made together. But when I heard about With This Ring, I started think that Gerald's gift to me could become a life saving gift to people I didn't even know."
Since its beginnings in 2007, over 60 rings have been donated to With This Ring--the first one from the finger of the founder, Ali Eastburn. "I realized one day that I had the power to save lives in a third world country through the wealth of the wedding ring on my finger," she said. Thirteen wells have been funded through the charity since April 2008, and experts estimate that 10 more are needed to eradicate the water borne diseases of the Yendi area of Ghana.
Eastburn's desire to change the world through radical giving resonated with Geiger. "John 14:6 tells the truth. We are the light to shine in a darkened world. Our testimony of love is needed so desperately today to people who have no hope."
If you would like to donate your wedding ring or would like to participate in another way with With This Ring, visit www.withthisring.org for more information.
