2009 Give Water Give Life Benefit Raises 510,000

On behalf of all of us at Water 1st, thanks to everyone who participated in the Fifth Annual Give Water Give Life Benefit. Our Washington State Convention Center ballroom in downtown Seattle was packed with more than 700 people in support of our work to help end the cycle of poverty and death in poor communities through sustainable safe water and sanitation systems.

Together we raised a record $510,000! Thanks to all of our donors, corporate sponsors, in-kind donors, and volunteers whose generous contributions helped us reach our goal. A special thanks our generous group of Water 1st supporters, who matched all donations $500 and above.

Give Water • Give Life Event Photo Gallery

Event Chairs Ty Cramer and Steve Romein welcomed guests and thanked attendees for their support. Water 1st Executive Director Marla Smith-Nilson then presented the 2009 Water Ambassador award to the Laird Norton Family Foundation. (See Sidebar)

A film featuring our beneficiaries and the work of Water 1st was shown, and Marla shared stories from Water 1st’s recent travels to completed projects, projects in construction, and communities in need of support.

Watch the film here.

"Safe water, toilets, and public health education. That’s what we do. Calling Water 1st innovative may seem odd if you think of innovations as cool new products and technological breakthroughs. Water 1st’s innovations, by contrast, have focused on process rather than on product. It makes our innovations hard to see, but it doesn’t make them any less powerful. Our values are simple and not entirely new. What we do, we think better than any other nonprofit working in this field, is turn our values into practice.”

Marla also talked about the changes that are possible with the support of Water 1st donors. "The funds we give as a group are nothing less than transforming to the people we serve. Every time we support a water project, we are taking part in something so significant that the head of the water committee in Bishikiltu, Ethiopia has characterized it as 'God touching the Earth.'"

For the program’s conclusion, the winner of the Hawaiian Getaway raffle was announced. Congratulations and Aloha to Carolyn and Scott Sherwood! Ty Cramer and Steve Romein then made the grateful announcement that we exceeded our goal: $510,000 had been raised—enough to benefit 7,180 people in India, Bangladesh, Honduras, and Ethiopia.

A Grateful Thank You

We are grateful to our Corporate Sponsors, Table Sponsors, Table Captains, volunteers and guests for their support and for helping people in need of safe water and latrines. And special thanks to the St. Gebriel Ethiopian Children’s Choir and to David Mesler and his jazz trio for providing live music.

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