Tap a Friend….
My good friend, Charlotte, and I woke up at 6:45 on Sunday morning. Bless her. She is a great friend who woke up that early to volunteer with me for something called the “Water Walk.” The Water Walk was a 1 mile walk and kick off event to start World Water Week. This week is all about bringing awareness to people who have access to clean drinking water about the lack of clean water to many, many people around the world.
This awareness is brought about UNICEF. A junior project of theirs, begun by the partnership between and incredible ad agency in New York and restaurants in New York, The Tap Project is the focus of this week. I became aware of The Tap Project after my boyfriend saw some information about it in a marketing newsletter (he’s in the ad world, as well). And I thought, what a perfect thing for me to volunteer for. It’s a fantastic charity that uses restaurants to reach people- I’m in!
So, a few months ago Brad and I began reaching out to our contacts in the restaurant world. At the bottom of this blog there is a list of the INCREDIBLE people who decided this was something they wanted their restaurants to be a part of, thank you to all who are participating. Let me give you an idea of how this all works. Restaurants sign up to participate. When you go to those restaurants to dine, the server will ask you to please donate $1.00 for your glass of tap water to provide 40 days of clean drinking water for a child. At the end of the week the restaurants send their collected money to UNICEF and through that money clean water is provided to villages that are in desperate need.
I hope everyone can understand the impact we can have on peoples lives, specifically children. Brad and I attended a training for The Tap Project and learned about how much water can affect a child’s life. In many of the towns that are in need of clean drinking water, families send daughters two or three times a day to walk miles to and from a water source to collect unclean water for the family. Many times because the children are drinking this dirty, contaminated water they become ill and again because all they have to rehydrate their sick bodies is contaminated water they do not get better and many times die. These are children who can’t even go to school because they either have to travel too far to get the water for the family and can’t make it back for school or they are too sick to attend.
Waterborne illness is the second largest killer of children under five. This is a startling and very sad fact. My hope is that by spreading this knowledge my friends and family will understand the dire need of funds for this amazing organization. The Tap Project has such a beautiful mission and such a simple one. Help bring clean water, one of the basic essentials of life, to people who need it. I hope you will help me support the restaurants this week that all the Tap volunteers worked so hard to commit to the program. Please visit one of the restaurants I have listed below or log on to www.tapproject.org and search by your zip code to look for other participating restaurants. And when you go, tell your server that you are there because they are a Tap restaurant! This will help the restaurant understand how the word spreads and will help them commit again next year. Thank you in advance to everyone who will help support this week and continue to support the effort to bring clean drinking water to the world.
Restaurants Brad and I recruited for The Tap Project
-Thank you!!-
- Quartino, 626 N. State Street
- Hotel Sax Bar, 333 N. Dearborn
- Le Colonial, 937 N. Rush
- Hugo’s Frog Bar and Fish House, 1024 N. Rush
- LuxBar, 18 E. Bellevue Pl.
- Perrenial, 1800 N. Lincoln
- The Bristol, 2152 N. Damen
- Tsunami, 1160 N. Dearborn
So, “tap a friend” for dinner or even just drinks this week and please support these incredible restaurants with your business and help us support The Tap Project. Thank you!!!
