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Run4Water in Colorado

Team World Vision2016 marks WaterAfrica’s 9th Walk4Water in downtown Lake Oswego and our first Walk4Water in Colorado Springs! As our WaterAfrica Community takes root in Colorado we are connecting with Team World Vision. Team World Vision is encouraging people to participate in our Walk and we hope you’ll consider walking or running with them in September.

Team World Vision empowers people to experience radical life transformation through endurance races, community advocacy, and social giving for the sake of clean water in Africa. You can Run or Walk the American Discovery Trail Marathon and Half Marathon on Labor Day, September 5, 2016 with Team World Vision in Colorado Springs and provide sustainable clean water for communities in rural Africa.

Find more information at Team World Vision’s website.

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International Women’s Day #pledgeforparity

For more than a century International Women’s Day has been a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year the call to action is to work for accelerated gender parity and this resonates with our work here at WaterAfrica!

Walk4Water

Women in rural Zambia spend hours each day collecting water and then managing varieties of difficult consequences. We have seen firsthand the life-changing impact that comes to these women when World Vision works in their communities in holistic, sustainable ways to bring clean, safe water near to their homes.

Life spent collecting water is life spent on survival. This International Women’s Day please join us in the important work toward gender parity as we raise awareness and money for clean, accessible water in rural Zambia. We know this frees women from the daily work of survival and opens the door to opportunities for education, economics, and fullness of life.

Would you like to take action today?
Register for Walk4Water9 – Lake Oswego April 23

Register for Walk4Water – Colorado Springs May 14

Sponsor the Walk

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Yodelish WaterAfrica Fundraiser 2/13-14

The Lakeridge High School WaterAfrica Club has arranged another fundraiser at the Yodelish Frozen Yogurt Shop (Mountain Park New Seasons/Columbia Sportswear shopping center).

You can support this effort by stopping at Yodelish this Friday or Saturday (12noon – 10pm) and purchasing self-serve frozen yogurt. A percentage of the Yodelish proceeds from February 13 & 14 will benefit WaterAfrica, providing safe water to villagers in rural Zambia. Thank you, Lakeridge High School WaterAfrica Club and Yodelish for this fundraising partnership!

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Lakeridge High School WaterAfrica Club + Yodelish

Lakeridge_WaterAfricaClubKarthik and his Lakeridge High School WaterAfrica Club are kicking off the new year by arranging a fundraiser at the Yodelish Frozen Yogurt Shop (Mountain Park New Seasons/Columbia Sportswear shopping center).

You can support this effort by stopping by stopping at Yodelish this Thursday (12noon – 9pm) or Friday (12noon – 10pm) and purchasing self-serve frozen yogurt. A percentage of the Yodelish proceeds from January 21 & 22 will benefit WaterAfrica, providing safe water to villagers in rural Zambia. Thank you, Lakeridge High School WaterAfrica Club and Yodelish for this fundraising partnership! 

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Fundraising Toward Goal – Thank You!

CWFL_EOY15_World VisionWaterAfrica President Gary Mittelstaedt and Treasurer Kevin Cummings delivered a $160,000 check to Alan Shiffer, World Vision this month. We have never raised this much money in such a short time before and we are grateful for the generous support of our WaterAfrica community! This check represents donations generated by our Clean Water For Life event, donations from the first part of our 2015 End of the Year Campaign, and contributions from our local matching donors. This total will multiply further through an additional World Vision match.

This is an exciting time to join with us in raising awareness and funds for clean water in Zambia:

Raising Awareness, Raising Funds, Transforming Lives. Thank you for joining us in this life-changing work. We are on pace to see the end of the African water crisis in our lifetime: Clean Water For All!

DONATE NOW

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Life-Changing Bracelets

Last March the Engel family walked in Walk4Water8, and then in October, Kristen and her 13-year old daughter Grace attended Clean Water For Life. Grace was particularly struck by the fact that girls her age spend half of their day walking to get water. Water that is brown, unclean and often shared by animals!! Kristen said, “It was eye opening for her to imagine not having fresh water, something we so easily take for granted!! Grace and I were incredibly encouraged by the work that World Vision has already done, and we were challenged by the lofty goal of trying to get water to all Zambian villages by 2020!”

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Grace left the conference inspired and feeling compelled to find a way to help. She and her sisters, Claire(11) and Sara(8), reached out to a few friends and together they began making bracelets to sell in order to give the proceeds for clean water in Zambia.

Making Bracelets

The girls chose to integrate a little elephant charm to serve as a reminder of the purpose of the bracelet. They hope that the wearer will see the elephant on their wrist and remember that they helped provide fresh water to someone in need.

Watching the girls work together, Kristen says, “It has been such a blessing to see the girls’ compassion and concern for vulnerable kids and families in Africa. It is touching to hear their conversations at the table as they make the bracelets. It is also fun to see different strengths come forward as they work together – from those who most enjoyed making the jewelry; to those who really shined at the “Trunk Show” – speaking up, explaining the cause, and selling the bracelets; to those quietly adding up each sale. It is so nice to see how their individual gifts can all work together towards the same goal.”

Trunk Show
One of Kristen’s favorite stories is of the little girl who bought a bracelet off her daughter’s wrist on the school bus: She paid with a plastic baggie filled with $15 worth of coins.

These girls have raised $1,105 through bracelet sales! Our 3:1 match will multiply this money and 66 people will have clean water for life. 

Bracelet_ Fundraiser
Kristen Engel and the girls – presenting bracelet proceeds to WaterAfrica President Gary Mittelsteadt

BraceletsYou can purchase a bracelet at The Grove, in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Phone: 503.635.3023 Each bracelet is $15 and 100% of the money is given to WaterAfrica for clean water in Zambia.The girls hope to continue production and sales and even talk about exploring additional outlets.

WaterAfrica: Raising Awareness, Raising Funds, Transforming Lives

We are grateful to these creative, thoughtful girls and we trust that even as they apply their gifts and energy to provide life-changing clean water for rural Zambians, they will also find their own lives changed in remarkable ways.

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#GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday

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As an antidote to the Thanksgiving weekend shopping frenzy, the idea of #GivingTuesday was born. It marks a global day dedicated to giving back and this year our online donation processing partner, Network For Good, is offering challenge money for online donations we receive specifically on #GivingTuesday (December 1).

We want to leverage this opportunity to raise extra money for Clean Water in Zambia and so we will send out a simple email reminder on Tuesday morning with a link to our online donation page. Not only will your online donation be multiplied by WaterAfrica’s 3:1 match, but on #GivingTuesday it will also generate additional money from Network For Good. Thank you for considering this opportunity to join us on #GivingTuesday and multiply donations for life-changing impact!

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Patricia Heaton Shout Out

“Your sacrifice and your compassion is making a huge difference in Africa” – Patricia Heaton

WaterAfrica recently received a surprise video shout-out from Actress Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond, etc.), as she toured World Vision’s Water Projects in Zambia. In this week of Thanksgiving we invite you to pause 30 seconds and hear her speak to us:

Thank you, Ms. Heaton, for your encouraging words! Thank you, WaterAfrica Friends! Your support is life-changing.

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Thanksgiving Girls

Three girls. One woman. A drawing of a girl dancing off the page. Thanksgiving afternoon.
WaterAfrica Thanksgiving Girl
Sammy, Becca, and Nina, ages 8, 8, and 6 spread their Thanksgiving drawings on the sidewalk, posted a sign saying “Donations for WaterAfrica” and yelled, “Art for sale,” as people approached. Joggers jogged past. Dog walkers walked past. No one even looked at their art. A few muttered, “No thanks.”

When the resourceful girls changed their approach to quietly ask passersby if they would like some Thanksgiving art, the first young couple stopped to look. They apologized that they had no money, but the girls said that they could take a Thanksgiving drawing for free. The couple selected one drawing, said thanks, walked on, but after a few steps, they returned to donate a quarter they had found in one of their pockets.

Shortly, almost every passerby stopped to admire the art. Some took a drawing and put some coins or a dollar in the donation jar. Others had no money with them, but walked away with drawings in hands and a smiles on their faces.

One woman walking three small dogs stopped to admire the drawings. The girls encouraged her to take a drawing even though she was carrying no money. She selected a stick-figure drawing of a girl dancing off the page with joy, labeled “Thanksgiving girl.” The woman said she would return with an envelope addressed to Thanksgiving girl so the girls would know who it was from. As she left, the woman said, “That made my day.”

A couple hours later, the woman returned with an envelope addressed as she had promised. Inside the envelope was a note that said, “Thank you very much for your beautiful Thanksgiving art work. I was feeling very sad today, but ‘Thanksgiving girl’ was just what I needed to feel better. Happy Holidays!” Also inside the envelope were three $10 bills.

In terms of what the girls did Thanksgiving afternoon, it did not matter that WaterAfrica was the charity of choice. What mattered was the girls’ exuberance for life shown in their drawings and in their engagements with the passersby. They helped to lift the spirits of people.

We pray this holiday season that we all can be “Thanksgiving girls.”

Bill Savage, WaterAfrica Co-Founder

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3 for 1 Donation Match Multiplies Your Gifts!

Update 3/14/16: We are grateful for the outpouring of donations in response to our challenge money. At this time we have exhausted our matching funds. If you can help us continue this program by providing a challenge donation we would love to speak with you. 

Have you heard about WaterAfrica’s unprecedented 3 for 1 donation match?!?

That’s right. Your donation will triple! 

  • $50 becomes $150 and provides water for 3 villagers for the rest of their lives
  • $500 becomes $1500 and provides water for 30 villagers for the rest of their lives
  • $5,000 becomes $15,000 to provide clean water and sanitation for an entire village (300+ people)

In September, World Vision announced a bold new commitment to work with their partners to provide clean water to everyone, everywhere World Vision works by 2030.

Imagine! Safe water for everyone!

Water Joy!

“You saw the kids celebrating as the water erupted. There’s nothing like giving clean drinking water to a village that’s never had it before.”
Greg Allgood, Vice President, World Vision Water
Clean Water For Life, Marylhurst University, October 31, 2015

But World Vision needs our help. Since 2006, WaterAfrica has raised $1.5 million to provide clean water for 30,000 people living in Zambian villages. In October, we announced new fundraising goals to provide water to another 30,000 villagers and help World Vision complete their work in Zambia by 2020!

Clean water creates communities where children thrive.

As we enter this season of thanksgiving and generosity, please consider giving the gift of clean water and share the JOY!

DONATE NOW