Love and kindness were definitely in the air when we stopped by Brooklyn’s St. Saviour High School in mid-January, as students excitedly prepared for their Valentine’s Day fundraiser a month early. Members of the school’s National Honor Society and Water Project club wrapped school water bottles with pink, handcrafted “I Heart H2O” labels.
The Water Project (TWP) is a non-profit organization that has been providing reliable water infrastructure to communities in sub-Saharan Africa, who suffer from a lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation, for the last decade. Women and girls living in Kenya, Sierra Leone and Uganda, for instance, spend hours each day walking and fetching dirty water that lead to illness and disease. According to their website, one in nine people, globally, still has no access to clean water.
TWP’s water projects include rehabbing neglected water wells and constructing new wells, sand dams, rainwater catchment systems and spring protections to schools, medical clinics and villages. After construction, in-country TWP members do routine check-ups and maintenance on the projects.
First reactions
TWP’s mission resonated with the club’s founding members because they’re attending an all-girls school, where promoting and giving every single girl a future and giving them the tools they need to succeed are important.
“This [fundraiser] is different because, at least during the time I’ve been here, this is the first one started by students. Students have always helped, but this was their idea and they brought it to the administration,” senior Elisa Lennon, the high school’s student vice president, told us.
Junior Catherine Kindschuh told us that their campus ministry director inspired her and her peers at the beginning of the year when she spoke to students about giving back to the community.
“It’s good to find something that you’re passionate about. When she said this to us, we wanted to use our free time to do something that’s going to help our community and put our minds to other activities, instead of just working on school all the time,” Kindschuh explained.
Junior Quyn McCaffrey added that she, like the rest of the club, is happy to be doing something good that will benefit so many people. Sixty-eight dollars can provide water to two people, according to the club’s members. They plan to raise $800 on Valentine’s Day, which they hope will help serve a village of families.
“Everyone can make a difference from anywhere in the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re a thousand miles apart from people that need your help the most – you can still make change from your small, Catholic, all-girls high school in Brooklyn,” Kindschuh said. “That’s a big part of why we’re so grateful that foundations like the Water Project exist because they make it so easy for young people, especially those who want to give back to their community, to do that.”
School-wide participation
In exchange for $2, students can wear red or pink on Valentine’s Day as a special dress-down day. All proceeds, including any additional donations, will be sent to TWP. The girls aren’t sure what village they will be helping just yet; they’ll find out after they send their total donation to TWP, at which time the organization will determine where the money can be best used.
The club will also distribute 300 powder blue-colored wristbands that say “SSHS Water Project” and feature images of a water droplet and a paw print (to represent the school’s panda mascot).
The club had just received the order of bracelets on the day we visited and non-club students were already hyped for the event. “Everyone’s been talking to us today and asking, ‘When can I buy one? Where can I donate? How much can I give?’” said junior Emily Montenigro, who is also part of the club. “It’s so great to see people gelling to the idea of a cause like this.”
“The message in February on Valentine’s Day is to spread love, and the way we think that’s best is to promote The Water Project,” Kindschuh said. “It’s a way to show that we love each and every single one of the girls who make sacrifices for their families across the world.”
Top photo of St. Saviour High School’s “I Heart H2O”-labeled water bottles in the shape of a heart, taken by DeGregorio.
