Kids Care Clubs
World Water Day   

Your club can join countries around the world to observe World Water Day on March 22, 2012 by implementing a Kids Care Clubs World Water Day project. Water is important to all living things.  Keeping it clean, safe and available is everyone's responsibility. Increase community awareness about the importance of using water wisely, not wastefully.  

Kids Care Clubs World Water Day Projects

World Water Day - Don’t Be a Drip Posters

Materials Needed:
Poster board
Markers 

This idea, taken from Planetpals, is a great way to teach your community to conserve water. Make posters to hang up at school, use during a Well--a--thon Walk, or a "Walk for Water" around your school or in town to remind people to conserve water. 

Steps Involved: 

1. Show club members a gallon milk bottle so they can visualize the amount of one gallon of water.
2. Discuss how kids can use less water while brushing their teeth, taking a shower or washing their clothes.
3. Decide what you will do with your posters.  Will you hang them in a public space or do a “walk for water” carrying your posters on World Water Day, March 22^nd? 
4. Create posters.
5. Complete a Club Response Card after your project is done.
   

Poster Ideas

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
Sink faucets run 2.5 gallons of water a minute (1). 

Turn the faucet off tightly so it does not drip. 
One drip per second can waste 2,000 gallons of water per year (2).

Take shorter showers. 
An average American showerhead releases 5 gallons of water per minute (3).

Run the dishwasher or washing machine only when they are completely full.
It takes the same amount of energy to run a partially full machine as a full machine.

More ideas for posters and facts can be found on Planetpals and Heifer International "Don’t Be a Drip.” 

Kids Care Clubs Well-a-thon Walk 
Your club can help families overseas have access to safe, clean water.  Organize a Well-a-thon Walk to raise funds to build wells overseas. 

According to The Water Project:
-More than 1 in 6 people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water.  
-1 out of every 4 deaths under the age of 5 worldwide is due to a water-related disease.  
-Nearly 80% of illnesses in developing countries are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions. 

Steps Involved:

1. Check out Kids Care Clubs Eat Wise -- Exercise! Kids Care-a-thon for materials needed and steps involved to organize a Well-a-thon Walk. 
2. Research on the internet organizations that build wells overseas.  See the list below.
3. Advertise your Well-a-thon."  Be sure to include facts about the issue and information about the organization you will be donating the funds to.
4. Ask the local press to cover your walk.
5. Complete a Club Response Card.  

The following organizations build wells overseas:

The Water Project 

Globalwater.org 

The African Well Fund

Water for Sudan was found by “Lost Boy” Salva Dut.  They dig wells in Sudan so villages will have clean and safe water to drink. 

 The Pickford Elementary Kids Care Club in Pickford, MI was inspired to do a project after reading Linda Sue Park's book A Long Walk To Water. The students were motivated to raise money to donate to Water For Sudan Inc. This organization was founded by Salva Dut to dig wells in Africa for better storage of water. The kids collected pop cans and asked friends and family for donations. All of the donations went towards trying to help Sudanese families have better access to water. 

Filtered Water Bottles for Overseas - By donating $22 per year to Water Givers International, your club can provide clean drinking water to a person for one year.  A special bottle and one replacement filter provides 200 gallons of clean drinking water by removing bacteria and viruses.

Keeping water safe in our communities.

Click here to read how the Gaston County 4-H Kids Care Club tackled the problems of cleaning a local river and educating their community about keeping storm drains clean.     

Internet Resources
Planet Pals – World Water Day 

UN World Water Day-- Download posters and learn interesting facts about the United Nations 2012 World Water Day theme at http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/about.html.

(1) Planetpals

(2) Heifer International Don't Be a Drip!

(3) U.S. Geological Survey and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection at www.usgs.gov and http://www.ny.nrcs.usda.gov/