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Glen Crest students invite community to join them on fundraiser to bring clean water
Glen Crest Middle School students will be raising money to help people access clean water, and they are inviting the community to join them in a unique fundraiser. More than 200 sixth-grade students will be participating in the Water Challenge, which helps people in Africa who do not have access to a sustainable water supply.
From April 23 to May 6, the students will be substituting tap water for other drinks, such as sodas, sports drinks, and bottled water. They will keep track and donate the money they would have spent on those other drinks to The Water Project (www.thewaterproject.org). The Water Project uses the funds to build and repair wells, sand dams, and other water technologies in sub-Saharan countries where clean, safe water can be scarce. The Water Project staff follows up with sanitation and hygiene programs, as well as community mobilization at each site.
Community members are encouraged to participate in the two-week challenge with the students. Anyone can make a donation at https://thewaterproject.org/community/profile/glen-crest-6th-grade-class-water-challenge
Students in Craig Hofmann and Deb Pruitt’s social studies classes read “A Long Walk to Water”, the story of an 11-year-old girl in Sudan, who must walk two hours twice a day to fetch her water supply. The young adult novel is part of a unit on scarcity of resources.
The students will start their project with a symbolic commitment walk on April 19. The students will carry containers to a water source (the lake in nearby Panfish Park), fill the containers with water, and then walk around the lake. The activity is designed to develop empathy for the 12 percent of the world’s population that must spend hours every day gathering water.
The participating students will then wear a wristband throughout the two-week challenge. The bands say 1+1=1, signifying One Promise + One Band = One Life. While students can donate any amount, every $23 raised brings clean water to another person.
A few weeks after the sixth graders submit their donations, the Water Project will inform them of the specific project their funds will support. The students will be able to follow the community’s progress through photos, GPS coordinates, and field reports.
This is the second year that Hofmann and Pruitt have helped students organize a water challenge. Last year, the students and staff raised more than $1,000. Hofmann is proud of the donations, and he’s excited about the worldview the students develop through the project.
“They are raising money 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,” Hofmann said.
For more information about the fundraiser, contact Hofmann or Pruitt at (630) 469-5220 or email: chofmann@ccsd89.org or dpruitt@ccsd89.org. For more information on The Water Project, go to www.thewaterproject.org, call (800) 460-8974, or email info@thewaterproject.org.