Water Missions International has launched its "Water Sunday" project, which encourages churches from across the United States to educate their congregations about the 884 million people around the world lacking access to clean water – and the 1.4 million children who die each year as a result of this crisis.

The project will also seek to inspire churches to host a fundraiser one Sunday in March, which is also the same month as World Water Day on March 22. Funds raised will be used to aid communities around the world by building water treatment systems that will clean their water and make it safe.

Kevin Herr, the Church Engagement coordinator at Water Missions, shared in a phone interview with The Christian Post how the organization got started and the mission that drives it forward. more >>

Columbia University in New York is offering a new class this spring semester in which students will be required to take part in the social movement known as Occupy Wall Street that swept the nation this past fall.

Dr. Hannah Appel, an anthropologist who reportedly supports the OWS movement, will teach the class titled “Occupy the Field: Global Finance, Inequality, Social Movement.” The course will involve class work as well as projects out in the field.

According to the syllabus, the course will allow for up to 30 students to get involved with OWS through “fieldwork.” This idea prompted the New York Post to ask, “Does getting pepper sprayed count as extra credit?” more >>

West Africans could face another food crisis in 2012, but Oxfam International is insisting it is avoidable.

Calls to increase aid are underway, as experts warn millions of adults and children risk facing starvation.

"The situation is looking extremely worrying for millions of people in West Africa, but the worst is not yet inevitable," Mamadou Biteye of Oxfam Humanitarian Lead in West Africa said in a press release Monday. more >>

San Francisco is preparing to make history by raising the minimum wage above $10.

According to reports, the raise to $10.24 is set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. Currently the minimum wage, set by the Department of Labor, is $7.25. It has been at that rate since 2009.

San Francisco passed a proposition in 2003 stating that pay rates must go up every year. While many people are pleased with the raise, some small businesses are being hit hard by being required to pay employees more. more >>

Imagine having to save a half a pack of crackers from the vending machine because you were worried your brother might not have food for dinner.

That was the case for one young boy in Virginia. Last year, his teacher discovered that many children in his school were going hungry on the weekends and weeknights, and they didn’t know where their next meal would come from.

She came to this realization, by accident, through an award she gave out each week to a student in her class for doing something special. The student who was picked got to choose a snack out of the vending machine as their reward. more >>

Over 400 children from economically disadvantaged families in New Jersey will find a new present under the tree this Christmas.

On Dec. 10, the New Brunswick- based Liquid Church, along with 15 local social service organizations, is hosting a community outreach called Operation Christmas Angel.

“With the economy the way it is, people are hurting,” Lead Pastor Tim Lucas told The Christian Post. He said his church came up with the idea for OCA as a way to “show Christ’s love in a practical way.” more >>