Water Walk Fundraiser

The Need for Water
According to the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to clean water—about one person in six. As a result, 4,900 people die each day, ninety percent of whom are children under age five. All because of a lack of a quality water resource.

The Wisconsin Well & Pump Suppliers and the Wisconsin Water Well Association are in the business of providing water – in a safe and cost-effective way – to homes, farms and businesses across Wisconsin. Our codes, our licenses, our inspections, our products, our training/education, and our people – make this possible. Recognizing that things aren’t the same in the rest of the world, we decided to help by raising funds so that water wells could be drilled around the world.

We’ve Made Progress, But There’s More to Do
So far, we’ve raised enough money to drill four wells and we’re working toward a fifth in 2020. Each well costs approximately $6,000.00 to drill. We have provided most of the funding, but the local community is asked to partner with us to provide a small amount toward the well so that they have a sense of community pride that comes with ownership.

How We Raise Funds
We’ve held industry fundraisers in each of the last few years – golf outings, bowling events, and requests for contributions. We’ve also worked with partner groups on special events, such as a Water Walk.

What’s a Water Walk?
A Water Walk is a community fundraiser. That “community” could be a school project, a church group, or a community service organization annual event. Members of the community reach out to their network of family and friends to secure donations for the completion of a Water Walk.

On the day of the Water Walk, participants gather and bring with them two one- gallon plastic containers. Participants then walk to a location where the containers are filled and then return to the starting point. The walk is generally a planned course of about 1.5 miles in each direction to and from a location where the containers can be filled (river, lake, hand-pump well, etc.) and takes approximately ninety minutes to complete. The distance is meant to be challenging, as walks of up to 10 miles or more in each direction are not uncommon in areas where we are trying to provide wells. For safety, adult volunteers generally assist youth participants in filling the containers.

As an option, prior to the walk, industry representatives can talk with participants about the importance of water, about groundwater in Wisconsin and how wells work, about the challenges in countries where water is not readily available, and about the positive outcomes that a community well will have in a community. This presentation will generally take 45 to 60 minutes.

Donations
Participants collect their donations and return them to a coordinator from the partner group who writes a single check to the non-profit organization that drills the wells.

Media
To bring attention to the importance of quality water in our lives, the needs of people around the world, and the efforts of the participants and partner groups, we encourage local media to be notified and invited to take photos and even participate in the Water Walk.

For More Information
For more information or help setting up a Water Walk in your community, please contact:
Jeffrey J Beiriger
Wisconsin Pump & Well Suppliers P.O. Box 833
Germantown, WI 53022
P: 888/782-6815
M: 414/331-2059
E: jeff@assocmgmtservices.com