Phoenix 6-year-old inspires nearly 5,000 people to donate $105K for clean water projects
Recently, Ethan Wolfe, a six year-old Phoenix boy heard that people in Haiti had to drink “dirty water” every day and asked his family what they could do about it.
And in the span of about one month, more than 4,600 people filled emptied bottles with coins and dollar bills as part of the Dirty Water campaign at Palmcroft Baptist Church.
The campaign challenged people to drink nothing but water and donate the money they would have paid during that time for coffee, soda, and other drinks. More than $105,000 has been received to date.
The response from the Phoenix community has been overwhelming. “The efforts to bring clean water can be appreciated by everyone across our entire community regardless of generation, gender or grade,” said Jeff Wolfe, pastor at Palmcroft Baptist Church and father of the kindergartener who inspired the challenge to make a difference.
All of the funds raised will go toward establishing over a dozen new wells and accompanying clean water projects through LiquidWater.com.
Approximately $5,000 builds a well for a community of 400 that will bring safe drinking water for 20 years. To date, Liquid Water has brought over 45 communities sustainable clean water solutions in countries such as Haiti, Ethiopia and El Salvador.
“On our own, we would have been able to raise $25,000. But by using the Liquid Water model of a Dirty Water fasting campaign has involved hundreds more people who might have foregone a typical fundraiser,” said Wolfe.
And in the end, Ethan, the kindergartener who started it all was pivotal, not just for his inspiration. His own personal fundraising campaign results? Over $5,700 — enough for an entire water well.
The World Health Organization reports that about 760 million people do not have a choice but to use unsafe water with poor sanitation, which kills more people than all forms of violence, including war.