October 18, 2011 at 1:17 PM

After months of work and collaboration, a group of students have pulled together a Penn State chapter of the organization UNICEF and will be hosting events throughout the week.

UNICEF Chapter President Joanna Reissman said the group has been working toward officially having a branch at Penn State since the start of the summer and as of October, more than 70 members have joined.

The group meets in 205 Ferguson on Mondays at 7 p.m.

The kick-off week for the group is titled "Week Zero" in honor of one of United Nations Children's Fund's goals: to bring the number of children dying from preventable causes each day to zero.

On Monday, the group focused on spreading information about the Horn of Africa drought and about the start of the UNICEF club. Members sold water bottles and passed out pamphlets, raising more than $100 in one afternoon.

From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. today, the organization will host a tape walk where the word "UNICEF" will be spelled out in blue duct tape on poster boards.

Those passing by the Allen Street Gates are encouraged to give loose change to stick along the surface.

On Wednesday, participants will walk from Redifer Commons to the HUB, starting at 12:15 p.m., with buckets of water on their heads.

Anyone with a bucket and a towel is welcome to join.

The event scheduled for Thursday has been postponed to November, but an official date has not been chosen.

The week will close with Friday's all-day fast, in honor of the struggles in the Horn of Africa. UNICEF members will wear tags, denoting that they are involved in the fast.

Reissman (senior-elementary education) urged the importance of getting involved this week, even with something as simple as dropping a coin on tape.

"The Horn of Africa, the drought there, is the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world right now and the ones suffering the most are the children," she said.