Lots of Love: For the Love of Water Event Recap

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced us to cancel in-person fundraising events, WFSS joined the virtual world and hosted our first-ever global virtual event, For the Love of Water, on Saturday, February 27.

We smashed our fundraising goal of $50,000 and, thanks especially to one large donor, brought in more than $142,000 for the day. These funds will ensure that we can continue to drill wells and provide hygiene education—which is more critical than ever due to COVID-19.

The day’s events included video interviews with our four award winners, and a special video from the field in South Sudan.

The day started with a video message from WFSS Founder Salva Dut, and a compelling montage of donor comments, along with an emotional hip hop song called “Just Keep Walking,” produced for WFSS by Hip Hop Saves Lives. Check them out on Facebook here.

Kickoff Video

WFSS Honors Adriana Mancini with Global Citizen Award

We started the recognition of special supporters by presenting our first Global Citizen Award to Adriana Mancini. Mancini, founder of Students4H2O and a current graduate student in communications, was recognized for her passion for providing clean water to some of the world's most vulnerable people and for exemplifying the traits that helped WFSS Founder Salva Dut survive his long journey as one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan: hope, faith, and perseverance. 

Adriana has been fundraising for WFSS for several years, concentrating her efforts to combat the global water crisis by focusing on her own community in Florida with her tireless fundraising efforts. Inspired by her passion and enthusiasm for providing clean water, the Martin County School District has raised more than $20,000. Adriana and the rest of us await the return of international travel, when WFSS Founder Salva Dut will visit her hometown for an exciting fundraising event, tentatively scheduled for later this year.

Listen to her compelling story, and how she was motivated to spend her life focused on the global water crisis, after her own life-threatening health crisis when she was in fifth grade. 

WFSS Honors Lusher Charter School With Super School Award 

WFSS honored Lusher Charter School in New Orleans with the first Super School Award.

Lusher was recognized for achieving the highest overall fundraising amount for WFSS from students and teachers since WFSS’s inception in 2003. Teacher Christa Talbott told of how she introduced her students to Salva’s story in A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, and the ensuing excitement that encouraged them to fundraise over $83,000 since 2015! Talbott and her students have hosted walks for water and solicited support from their community, family, and friends. Each year, Christa’s sixth-grade class is inspired to surpass the amount raised the year before. Their fundraising efforts have sponsored four wells and the rehabilitation of one well, along with the associated hygiene education trainings.

Christa shares her passion for WFSS, and the excitement and accomplishments of her students, in this video interview.  

WFSS Honors Federated Garden Clubs of New York State With Long Walk Award 

WFSS recognized the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State with our first Long Walk Award for their generous support of WFSS for more than 10 years. The Long Walk Award name is inspired by A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, which tells the true story of WFSS founder Salva Dut, one of 3,800 Sudanese "Lost Boys" who came to the United States beginning in the mid-1990s. Since 2010, members of the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State have donated $173,600 to support clean water projects in South Sudan. Their generosity has sponsored 10 new wells and 5 rehabbed wells. WFSS is proud to continue this long-standing partnership with the 6,500+ members of the more than 200 clubs throughout the state.

Listen to longtime NYS Garden Club member (and WFSS cheerleader) Lucille Bauer as she describes her abiding commitment to helping provide clean water to those in need in South Sudan.

WFSS Honors Alaina With Amazing Kid Award 

In our final award of the day, WFSS presented its first Amazing Kid Award to Alaina, a ten-year-old girl from the Midwest. The Amazing Kid Award recognizes an individual under the age of 18 who has individually fundraised to provide clean water in South Sudan.

Alaina was our top fundraiser in 2020 and has been a tireless advocate for WFSS and the need for clean water in South Sudan. The night she and her mom finished reading A Long Walk to Water, Alaina started drafting a plan to start her fundraising campaign for WFSS! Through personal outreach, and with a concerted effort to avoid using social media, Alaina built a successful fundraising campaign that led to the sponsorship of a well.

Listen as Alaina describes her understanding of the global water crisis, and her passion for ending it!

Sharing the Love from South Sudan

All of the videos were so compelling, but one of the most emotional segments of the day was a nine-minute video highlighting our work in South Sudan. WFSS team members, including Founder Salva Dut, Country Director Ajang “AJ” Agok, and Technical Advisor Ater Akol “Lion” Thiep, interviewed community members and shared stories directly from the field. In the video, people who have directly benefited from WFSS wells share how clean water has impacted their lives and been a game-changer in ways both expected and surprising.

“The whole day was filled with the love we feel from our donors, and the love that WFSS has for those who support our work,” says WFSS Executive Director Lynn Malooly. “We were so pleased to recognize some of our top supporters, and also share the love from all the way in South Sudan.”

Watch the video below.

Recap Video

You can watch the entire compilation of videos (22 minutes) below.

WFSS thanks our sponsors, who helped make the day a terrific success. Special thanks also to Curlee Girlee Founder Atara Twersky who recorded an updated intro for her fantastic interview with Salva Dut and shared it on her platforms. You can listen to the podcast here. 

Thank You

WFSS has drilled more than 460 wells since 2005, and looks forward to continuing in its mission to deliver sustainable quality-of-life services to and with the people of South Sudan by efficiently providing access to clean, safe water, and improving hygiene and sanitation practices in areas of great need. 

People like you power our work. Thank you for changing lives in South Sudan!