In its first campus-wide campaign since occupying the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center for 12 days in November and December, the #FordHall2015 movement has been gathering money and items to donate to Flint, Mich. to and help relieve the water crisis there. The campaign — called “FordHall4Flint” — will continue through March 4.

The Flint water crisis began in April 2014, when Flint shifted its water source from the Detroit water supply to the Flint River. Aged pipes in the Flint River’s water system caused large amounts of lead to leak into the drinking water supply. Since the issue gained wide public attention earlier this year, several advocates have argued that the crisis was allowed to continue because Flint’s population is mostly black, and almost half the population is lower class, according to a Jan. 28 CNN report.

In a joint email to the Justice, #FordHall2015 leaders said that the campaign started after Christian Perry MBA/SID ’16 was contacted by an alumna of Spelman College in Atlanta. Perry was one of the organizers of the Bernstein-Marcus sit-in and is an alumnus of Morehouse College, which is an all-male school that has Spellman as its all-female sister school. In a phone interview with the Justice, Perry explained that, “One of my Spelman sisters … decided to organize our collective community, and through that organizing, we got in touch with Morehouse graduates of ’86.” One of those graduates is now a deacon at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, which is based in Flint and is one of the organizations to which FordHall4Flint is donating.

Perry explained that his friend from Spelman contacted him because she knew about and supported the Bernstein-Marcus occupation and also knew that Perry had traveled through Lesotho and lived in an area without indoor plumbing. “They contacted me to say, one, ‘Christian, during your occupation and during your international travel what were items that you used that didn’t require water?’” Perry explained to the Justice. “And so we began a list, and through that list, she asked me if Ford Hall wouldn’t want to be a part of their efforts. And I said Ford Hall would absolutely like to be a part of this.”

When asked whether #FordHall2015 planned to organize other future campaigns, Perry said that the group would consider other actions “as the need arises.” Though he noted that the group has no other plans in the works currently, he said, “I think again fundamentally for us, it’s about … how do we hold ourselves accountable to our [the University’s] social justice mindset. And so when that opportunity arises, and when we’re able to organize ourselves effectively, I think we certainly could, but there’s nothing in the works that I can currently speak to directly.”

About ten students are “directly involved in the planning and logistics” of the FordHall4Flint campaign, according to the #FordHall2015 email. As of Monday morning, the group had raised $1,149, according to its GoFundMe page. FordHall4Flint is currently aiming for a $2,000 fundraising goal but will continue to form new goals every time a previous milestone is reached. On Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout February, FordHall4Flint is tabling in the Shapiro Campus Center, Usdan Student Center and Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

“We are operating under the knowledge that marginalized communities in Flint, namely black and brown populations, are targeted in this gross violation of human rights,” the #FordHall2015 email stated. “We understand that this problem is bigger than any one of us but we recognize our privilege in being able to shed light on this situation as well as affect positive change. We believe strongly in the power of the entire Brandeis community, both near and far, coming together to stand with us and with Flint.”

In addition to Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, FordHall4Flint is donating its proceeds to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. This group advocates in and around Flint for a variety of causes and recently established the Flint Child Health and Development Fund in order to assist children affected by the toxins in Flint’s drinking water. FordHall4Flint partnered with this group “because we believe in kids having healthcare access and social support services that will benefit them in the long-term,” according to their email. The FordHall4Flint Facebook event includes a link to an amazon.com wish list established by the church, which shows what items the church is specifically requesting for donation.

The campaign was formally endorsed by the Heller School in a Feb. 4 Facebook post, two days after the start of the campaign. Of the endorsement, Perry said, “I think it’s critically important that institutions continue to show support and lobby for social justice issues — racial justice issues, which is definitely what Flint is. So I really appreciate Heller taking that step to support Flint, to support Ford Hall’s new initiatives but also to support Brandeis coming together as a community.”