News & Events

What Can You Do This World Water Day?

March 10th, 2010

Celebrate World Water Day with us through the month of March

March 22, 2010:
Make a Difference This World Water Day
 
For a person to live healthy, they must drink
2 liters of water a day, but 2 BILLION people on
Earth don’t have access to a safe water supply.
Imagine, one in three people across the world
does not have access to clean water. But many
of us don’t consider this issue simply because it
does not directly impact us.
 
Calculate how much water your family uses here.
Then continue reading to see how you and your
family can make a difference this month.

With improved health, people can concentrate on
other important issues, such as education and
childcare. A simple well supplying clean water
yields many benefits.
 
Part of Water to Thrive’s mission is making children here in the
United States aware of how fortunate we are compared to many areas of
the world, where something as basic as clean water can be a daily
struggle for survival. Our program helps students realize that there is a
world water crisis. Getting students involved in the program helps them also understand
the value of philanthropy. Students’ pocket change can make a big difference.
 
A school can take the initiative to sponsor a water well, and for
$5000 they will have the honor of naming the well. Of course civic organizations,
church groups and individuals can also participate by sponsoring a well, or conducting
an awareness program about the world water crisis. There are also a few simple suggestions below.
 
What Can I Do?
World Water Day is March 22, 2010. This day is an international
observance to draw attention to the plight of those without access to
clean water. The goals of World Water Day are two fold: First, to make
people aware of these facts:
 
- 6000 children die each day due to water-bourn disease.
- 80% of all sickness and disease is caused by unsafe water and lack
of basic sanitation. This kills more people every year than all forms
of violence combined, including war.
 
 
 And secondly, to urge people to do their part by:
 
- Drinking only water and setting aside the money that would have been
spent on soft drinks, or coffee and donating that money to Water to
Thrive.
 
- Foregoing a movie and donating that money. The cost of a movie
ticket can provide clean water for one person for up to 20 years (the
average well lifetime).
Conserving water wherever possible.

Then collect the money and send in to W2T at the end of the month.
And take pictures! We would LOVE to see and show what creative
ways you’ve come up with to show your love.

Help for Haiti

January 20th, 2010

In light of the current tragedy in Haiti, Water to Thrive would like to offer some suggestions for how you can help.  Medical attention, food, water, and shelter are among the most basic needs that people can help support. Although there are countless organizations that are responding to the needs of Haiti, just a few of these trusted organizations include: Doctors without Borders, Samaritan’s Purse, and Haitian Health Foundation. 

Become Someone’s Angel Today

January 20th, 2010

Our goal is 100 Water Angels in 2010!  Learn how you can become an Angel today. Click here to learn more.

W2T is awarded grant from Christ Lutheran Foundation, Inc.

January 11th, 2010

Exciting news! We have been informed that we have been chosen as the grant recipient for the 2010 funding period of Christ Lutheran Foundation, inc. Through this grant we will change the lives of over 1500 rural Ethiopians in the Bangi’o, Gambi, and Abaye Sole villages with the gift of clean water. Thank you Christ Lutheran!

A New Year’s Note from the Program Director

January 6th, 2010

Dear Water to Thrive Supporters,

Happy New Year! 2010 brings so much excitement to me as I envision the force of change that is in motion for the wonderful water ministry of Water to Thrive.

Thank you so much for all of your support throughout 2009. Together we were able to accomplish great things for those living without their most basic need – the need for clean water. 50,000 people are now rejoicing with the gift of new life – - the result of hard work from many, sacrifices from many (time, financial, and other), and a ton of generosity and faith-filled diligence to be of service to those in need. How rewarding it is to know that we have literally given new life to people that needed our help in AFRICA!  

I get to wake up each morning and call it a “job” to transform lives. What an honor. What a gift it is that I get to call the world “my office.” I get to be a voice for the people of Africa, and tell their story to anyone, anywhere, who will listen. Thank you for listening. Thank you for becoming part of this voice.

The more we eduate people about the water crisis, the greater our voice becomes. The greater our voice becomes, the more change we create in the world. And the more change we create in the world…well, I believe the greater purpose we have in our lives, the more love we have in our hearts, and the more joy we bring to this world.

Thank you for being part of this blessing that Water to Thrive is. I am grateful for your support of the mission for clean water. It is part of my duty to share with you the gratitude that we recieve from the communities that have been transformed by water that YOU have made possible. So, as I often say…ON BEHALF OF THE THOUSANDS of rural Africans whose lives are forever changed….THANK YOU.

With gratitude overflowing,

Becky Turner

Program Director

Water to Thrive Family Fun Walk

September 28th, 2009

Please join us  at 9:00 AM on Saturday, October 3rd at Terry Hershey Park for a Family Fun Walk event to help support our mission:  To Give the Gift of Water to people in rural Africa.  Bring friends or your entire family.  Bring a picnic and spend time at the beautiful Terry Hershey Park for a morning of fitness and fun, complete with prizes, food, and more  If you can’t join us please help support others fundraising efforts with a generous contribution. Please make your check out to ‘Water to Thrive’ .

The walk for water starts early in the morning for most rural Africans. Women and girls begin each day with this arduous task, a task which can take up to five hours to complete. The burden is both physical and emotional. The containers of water they carry weigh between 40 and 60 pounds. Emotionally, the burden is even heavier. Mothers must give their children the only thing they have available to drink – contaminated water that may make them extremely sick. Each day is the same – is a struggle to survive.

Water to Thrive seeks to offer a solution to this pressing need for clean, safe water. We recognize that access to clean water is essential and is a basic human right. In our efforts to bring clean water to impoverished people, our first task is to create awareness of the problem.

For more information to get your organization, congregation, company, club or community involved, please contact Shelia Woodard 281-507-1429 or shelia@watertothrive.org

Email Letter to Send to Donors (download DOC)
Fun Walk Pledge Form (download PDF)

Water to Thrive 5k and Kids K

August 30th, 2009

Are you a runner? How ’bout a walker? Come out to the beautiful Hill Country Galleria on September 19 for the inaugural Water to Thrive 5k and Kids K! Registration can be done online here.

Not so much into the running? You can still be a part of this great event! Your company can be an event sponsor or sponsor a race team. Click on the 5k Race tab for more information.

More questions? Contact Becky@watertothrive.org or Melissa@watertothrive.org. See you on September 19!

Water 2 Thrive 5K and Kids K
Saturday, September 19th
9:00 AM
REGISTER TODAY
Hill Country Galleria
2700 Hill Country Blvd
Bee Cave, TX

2009 marks the inaugural year of the W2T 5K and Kids K and the first running event to be held at Austin’s Hill Country Galleria shopping center. Bring a friend or the entire family for a morning of fitness and fun, complete with music, prizes, food and more!

Sponsorship Opportunities / Corporate Sponsorships

Starting at just $150, these packages allow you/your group/ or your company name to be associated with W2T 5K and Kids K prior to and during the event. Depending upon your level of sponsorship, your name or logo may appear on t-shirts, event posters, entry forms, and pre-event advertising. On event day your message will reach more than 400 people via on-site signage and booth space.

  • Receive high community visibility pre-event and on event day
  • Reach an audience of hundreds on event day
  • Extend and reinforce current marketing programs through PR opportunities
  • Showcase and test-market products to a highly targeted audience
  • Build employee morale and demonstrate company commitment to the community

In-Kind Sponsorships

  • The event sponsorship committee accepts in-kind goods and services. We also encourage you to tag your advertising with your sponsorship of the event.
  • Targeted Marketing (for Platinum level sponsors and above)
  • Sponsor the on-stage entertainment, registration, packet pick up or Kids K.

Other Opportunities:

RACE TEAMS – Build company morale and form a team. Team members receive all the benefits of individual race participants plus early packet pick-up. Teams may be comprised of families, friends and co-workers. We encourage teams to proudly wear t-shirts displaying their company name or logo on race day.

CORPORATE MATCHING PROGRAM – Some employers may choose to pay for all or a portion of their employee’s entry fee or provide matching funds for the entry fees and/or pledge dollars they raise. This is a great way to show your corporation’s commitment to philanthropy and W2T

HEALTH AND WELNESS PROGRAMS – Showcase your company’s support of health and wellness by purchasing race entries for your employees. Studies have shown that healthier staffs are happier and more productive W2T 5K and Kids K offers opportunities for everyone to help the break the cycle of poverty through the gift of clean water. From cash to in-kind sponsorships to underwriting a specific element of the event, w2T 5K and Kids K offers a variety of levels to match your company’s marketing goals and budget.

Ethiopia Trip 2009

August 10th, 2009

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Recently I returned from my first Water to Thrive trip to Ethiopia. While I was there I was able to visit many of the water projects that your gifts and contributions have made possible for the people of rural Ethiopia. My heart is forever touched, and changed.

I struggle now to find adequate words to tell you about this trip. It seems that words may never come close enough to adequately describing the joy that these communities now experience because of your kindness and willingness to create change through the gift of clean water.

If I could summarize the emotions and gratitude of the people into one word, it would be “halleluiah!” This proclamation was exclaimed over and over in many of the communities, as people gathered around to share in the joy and tears of the transformative gift of clean water.

I watched as women proudly walked up to a water faucet for the first time in their lives and turned it on. Seeing the water flow out of the faucet was somehow a new and intriguing experience even for me, as I watched and witnessed the reaction of those that had never used a faucet before. As the water filled the jerry can beneath it, I knew that the 45 pounds that a mother was about to hoist onto her back and carry home, was the first water that she would carry without the fear of quenching her child’s thirst with disease.

As we watched the fresh water flow for the first time in many communities, the people of the villages showered us with their elation and thanks, giving back to us in whatever ways they could. We were presented with flowers, coffee beans, corn stalks, and even native apparel. At each project we had the opportunity to sit down and exchange a few words with the community. Sometimes this was with only a handful of people, and other times there were over a thousand people.  We took these opportunities to recognize and lift up your contributions in making this possible. We communicated that we represent the thousands of people here in the United States that send their love, support, and faith in a better future for the people or rural Ethiopia.

Having witnessed the dire conditions for water, I have a deeper conviction than ever to continue to serve the rural poor in Africa that are in need of clean water. I need your help and continued support. We must not stop short of all that we can do. It only takes a small sacrifice on your part to make a monumental difference in the life of a person in rural Africa that is struggling each day to survive. Join me in the effort to carry this change forward in each day to come.

If you are not already actively supporting Water to Thrive as a “Friend,” then I ask that you become a Friend of Water to Thrive. When you become a Friend of W2T, you’ll receive news about our progress, invitations to special events, and more. Becoming a Friend is an automatic way of helping to change more lives through the gift of water. To become a “Friend,” simply refer to the end of this letter, detach the Friends Form and mail it back to us.

Thank you for supporting W2T. As we move through 2009, we have a few simple requests. We ask that you help us to continually be a voice for the world water crisis. We ask that you lift up our mission to others, pray for our project, get involved, and make a difference in the life of someone who needs your help.

With Hope and Gratitude,

Becky Turner

Program Director, Water to Thrive

Clean water for Sierra Leone

August 10th, 2009

As many of you know, Water to Thrive has expanded its reach to include projects Sierra Leone. We are working hard to raise funds for our first ten wells there and want to take this opportunity to thank Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Dallas for their wonderful support of our efforts. Thank you, Mount Olive, for helping us help our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone!