Collective Soul and Special Guest Sam Moore to Take Part in the Dow Live Earth Run for Water - the Largest Global Water Initiative in History Aimed at Helping Solve the World Water Crisis

CHICAGO, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Live Earth, organizer of the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, today announced that multi-platinum selling recording artists Collective Soul, who recently released a self-titled CD, "COLLECTIVE SOUL" and are touring in support of the album and their hit single "YOU," and special guest the legendary Sam Moore, the GRAMMY-winning, multi-platinum Rock & Roll Hall of Fame "Soul Man" who served as the inspiration for "The Blues Brothers," will perform live at the Chicago event. The Dow Live Earth Run for Water is the largest worldwide water initiative on record to help combat the global water crisis, and consists of a series of 6km run/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to get water), culminating with water education villages and live musical performances.

"I'm a long-time environmental advocate and believe strongly that it is our duty as a society and as individuals to preserve our planet and its resources," said Dean Rolland from Collective Soul. "The global water crisis is an environmental issue that affects nearly one billion people, and the Chicago community can help raise awareness and money to help address it."

The events will take place in more than 100 cities across 50 countries around the world on April 18, 2010, to raise awareness and funds to help solve the global water crisis. Melissa Etheridge, Rob Thomas, Pete Wentz, Angelique Kidjo, Alexandra Cousteau, and Jenny Fletcher have already been announced to support events on April 18.  

"I am honored to have been asked to lend my talent to an event that is striving to bring clean, safe drinking water to the women and children of the world, many of whom have to walk a mile or two each way or more daily to a water station just to keep themselves and their families alive," said Sam Moore. "I love Chicago, it's one of my favorite cities, my wife's a home girl and we're both hoping our friends and family who are here together with every fan of mine, fans of 'The Blues Brothers' and Sam & Dave turn out for the walk on April 18, so we can make a real difference and change lives for the better for so many."

Funds raised from the event will benefit Global Water Challenge (GWC), a coalition of non profit organizations working to bring clean, safe drinking water to millions of people worldwide. This includes innovative projects that provide clean drinking water to communities in Haiti, Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. GWC has invested in previous projects with donations going towards improving access to water in schools and supporting local entrepreneurs who provide market-based solutions.  

The Chicago Dow Live Earth Run for Water event will be held in Montrose Harbor at 4400 N. Lake Shore Drive, near downtown Chicago. The 6km course will take participants down the scenic shore of Lake Michigan. Starting time for the run is 10 a.m.

"As the leading events management organization in Chicago, SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGEMENT is excited to help organize this run/walk to generate awareness of both the global and regional water crisis," said Karyn Serota, media and marketing director of SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGEMENT.  

People in Chicago can register for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water run/walk today via The Active Network at http://liveearth.org/run. All participants will receive a free online ActiveTrainer plan to help them prepare for the event. A portion of all registration fees for the events will go directly to Global Water Challenge.  

"Live Earth is honored to have Collective Soul as part of this global movement to help raise awareness for the global water crisis," said Kevin Wall, founder of Live Earth. "Through the commitment of this artist, we are able to connect with a wider audience on this important issue and ultimately encourage them to participate in this movement to bring clean, safe drinking water to the nearly one billion people on this planet in need."

The Dow Live Earth Run for Water is a global movement focused on the actions individuals can take to effectively address the issue. People are encouraged to START solving the problem today, RUN in a Dow Live Earth Run for Water run/walk in their community or organize their own run/walk through the Friends of Live Earth program, SAVE water in their home and local community through conservation efforts, GIVE money to support clean, safe water projects and SPEAK UP by signing the Live Earth petition to add water as a basic human right to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.

"As the title sponsor for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, Dow is committed to bringing the science, technology and 'human element' it will take to help solve one of the world's greatest challenges – the global water crisis," said  Ian Barbour, general manager at Dow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of Dow. "On April 18, 2010, Dow's 52,000 employees will join people from around the world to help millions of people gain access to safe, clean drinking water."

For more information about the Dow Live Earth Run for Water visit www.liveearth.org, and to participate in the Chicago event, please visit http://www.liveearth.org/run.

About Chicago Events

Special Events Management, the producer of Dow Live Earth Run for Water, is the largest producer of outdoor events in the Midwest, including runs & walks; popular street, art and community festivals; cycling/sports events and more. To see upcoming events produced by SEM, or to learn more about the company, please visit http://www.chicagoevents.com or call 773.868.3010.

About Global Water Challenge

GWC is a diverse coalition that consists of leading organizations working to provide creative and sustainable solutions for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation. GWC's mission is to generate a global movement to meet the urgent need for safe water and sanitation by spurring collective awareness and investment in water supply/sanitation innovation by corporate, public and nongovernmental actors. Our challenge is to reach people with the tools and education they need to empower themselves. Access to clean water and sanitation leads to healthier, longer and more productive lives, and breaks the cycle of poverty. Water and sanitation are not just human rights, they are human necessities. More information about Global Water Challenge can be found at http://www.globalwaterchallenge.org.

About Live Earth

Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action.  A for-profit company, Live Earth seeks to leverage the power of entertainment through integrated events, media and the live experience to ignite a global movement aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues of our time.  More information about Live Earth can be found at http://liveearth.org.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

SOURCE Live Earth