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Glen Crest students challenge the community to join them on third annual clean-water fundraiser
Community members are invited to join Glen Crest Middle School students in a two-week fundraiser that will support people in Africa who do not have access to a sustainable water supply. From April 29 to May 12, the students will be substituting tap water for other drinks, such as soda, sports drinks, or bottled water. They’ll keep track of what they would have spent, then donate the difference to The Water Project (www.thewaterproject.com).
Community members are welcome to participate in the challenge or make a donation. Anyone can donate at www.thewaterproject.org/community/profile/2019-glen-crest-6th-grade-water-challenge
This will be the third year that Glen Crest teachers Craig Hofmann and Deb Pruitt have organized the “Walk to Water” fundraiser. It was inspired by “A Long Walk to Water”, which includes the story of an 11-year-old Sundanese girl who must walk two hours twice a day to get her water supply. The young adult novel is part of a unit on resource scarcity.
Hofmann is proud that students are willing to sacrifice for people they will likely never meet, who live in places they will likely never visit, and whose life challenges they will likely never experience.
Participants wear a special wristband, drink tap or filtered water instead of spending money for other drinks, then donate what they would have spent. The goal? Each participant raises whatever money they can. If they can raise $23, that would bring clean water to one person.
The Water Project will use the donations to fund the building and repair of wells, sand dams, and other water technologies in sub-Saharan countries in Africa where clean, safe water is often scarce. The Water Project goes beyond technology and financial assistance by including sanitation and hygiene education, as well as community mobilization.
A few weeks after the sixth graders submit their funds to The Water Project, they will be assigned a specific project. The students will be able to follow their project’s progress through photos, GPS coordinates, and field reports.
As a symbolic demonstration to kick off the Water Challenge, the sixth graders will participate in a “Walk to Water” on April 25. Simulating the one of eight people in the world who must spend hours every day getting water, the students will carry containers to Panfish Park, fill the containers with water, and walk around the lake. The demonstration is meant to show empathy with those less fortunate, as well as serving as the students’ statement of commitment to help reduce the water crisis.
For more information on the fundraiser, contact Hofmann or Pruitt at (630) 469-5220 or by email at chofmann@ccsd89.org or dpruitt@ccsd89.org.
For more information on The Water Project, go to www.waterproject.org, call (800) 460-8974, or email info@thewaterproject.org.
Posted: April 25, 2019