Here is an interesting fact that you probably didn’t know; an average American consumes 17.6 eight- ounce servings of beverages each day. Of that amount, 6.1 servings are water, including 2.3 servings of bottled water. Many Americans, buy regular brands such as Dasani or Aquafina, however, PurBlu Beverages found a crea-tive way to stand out of the crowd and help give back to the world. 
How  many 18 year olds do you know who successfully run his/her own business? Pittsburgh native, Ben Lewis, is one of them. Recently graduated from Shady Side Academy, and currently attending the University Of Pennsylvania Wharton School Of Business, Lewis runs his own water bottle company, PurBlu Beverages, from the 8th floor of One Oxford Centre in downtown Pittsburgh.
    What makes PurBlu Beverages so unique? A new program, titled Give, does the job. The program distributes water bottles in three colorful designs and causes. The labels feature facts and stats about each cause, such as breast cancer (Give Hope), impoverished children (Give Life), and the environment (Give Love). The benefit is that, for every bottle that you buy, 10 cents goes to charities for those three causes. Yes, it does cost between $1.30 and $1.60 per bottle, (depending on where you buy it) but 10 cents of your money goes towards a good cause. This amazing business, run by 18-year-old Ben Lewis states, “I’ve always been taught from a young age the importance of giving back. There was no single inspiration for this idea; it had a lot to do with my upbringing.”
    Don’t think for a second that owing a business has turned this bright and exuberant young man into one of those old, stiff, boring business men. Upon his arrival for our interview, I was greeted with a wonderfully warm smile and an apology for being a few minutes late. We talked about school and other normal subjects on the elevator ride up to his suite. Inside, the interview was conducted casually in a relaxed setting.
    Ben started working on his company two years ago during his junior year. “I started with nothing, and it’s completely evolved since then. I was determined to start a water bottle company. It really started to take shape the second half of my senior year.” Lewis states that he has never really experienced anything connected to the causes he endorses. But when his half brother died of ALS, (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, A.K.A. Lou Gehrig’s disease) Lewis found a new way to possibly connect to his business even more. “I guess you can say he was one of my inspirations. I was going to try and make a Give Strength bottle that would benefit ALS and other muscular diseases. Unfortunately, that idea got canned, and I had to take a break from Give because I wasn’t sure if it was going anywhere. Taking that break really helped me though, I was able to step back and look at everything with a fresh, new angle, which helped me get to where I am today.” When asked if this was something he could see doing for the rest of his life, he quickly answered, “No.” He smiled and said, “I love my business, I’ve learned a lot, and it’s amazing how successful it has become. My ultimate goal is just to sell as much as I can and make money for charity. I love selling Give, but I don’t see myself doing this in 10 years.”
    As of now, Lewis could only say that every week, the sales go up. At $2.48 a case and 10 cents a bottle, you can’t say they’re doing poorly. He couldn’t help but chuckle when I asked him if he noticed any competition from other brands of activism water, like Ethos from Starbucks. “I can’t say anything bad; they raise money for charity too. But they only give 5 cents for selling their water at $1.80, and people complain when we sell our water at $1.30.” Up until now, it’s just been Ben, his two friends from high school, and his younger cousin, (who is currently a senior at Mars High School) running PurBlu, “We just hired a guy that has been in the business industry for 28 years. He is going to become our C.O.O. starting November 1st.” When asked if running a business has changed him in any manner, he replied, “I have become a lot better at dealing with people. It’s really helped me gain experience with adults. Seriously, what 18 year old has to make budgets? No one out there my age is running a company with a $600,000 budget.”
    In parting words of wisdom, Ben provided this, “I know it’s kind of cliché, but I would have to say anything is possible, don’t give up. There were a couple of times when I gave up. I realized at one point that I was too far along not to go forward, I knew more about bottled water than I needed to know. Set high standards for yourself.”
If you have always wanted to help, but didn’t know what to do, or just couldn’t, Give provides you with that opportunity to help. “Cultivating change one drop at a time, Drink Give makes activism easy,” as stated on every bottle. The tough part is, depending on where you live; there might not be a close source near your home. You can find Give bottles in East Liberty’s Whole Foods, the Giant Eagle in Cranberry, and in the café at the Children’s Museum. If you want any more information on the movement, you can simply go to www.drinkgive.com. “Drink Give. Do Good.”