Give Water • Give Life Benefit Raises $444,000

On Friday, November 16th, at Benaroya Hall's elegant Samuel and Althea Stroum Grand Lobby, 560 guests gathered for a silent auction and benefit dinner to support the work of Water 1st International’s projects in four of the world’s poorest countries. $444,000 was raised to benefit people in need of clean water in Bangladesh, Honduras, Ethiopia and India.

Water Ambassador Award Recipients

Supporters Ty Cramer and Steve Romein were presented with the second annual Water Ambassador award by Water 1st, in honor of their commitment to supporting people in need of safe water. Marla Smith-Nilson, Water 1st Executive Director, presented Ty and Steve with the award, a pottery water jug from Desta, a community member from Ilamu Muja, Ethiopia. "Because of the water project they completed, thanks in large part to your generosity, Desta no longer needs this water jug. She has water a few minutes from her home. We would like you to have Desta’s water jug to symbolize the burden you have literally helped to take off her shoulders and the shoulders of many others in Ethiopia."

Our guests enjoyed a dinner reception, silent auction, and beautiful table centerpieces provided by Water 1st supporter Kanchan Kaye of Mango Imports. The centerpieces were lottas, brass water containers from West Bengal, India, used by women and girls to fetch water.

Film Highlighting Water 1st Work in the Field

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. She shared the story of a January 2007 visit to Bishikiltu, Ethiopia, a community of over 4,000 people in the Oromia region, where water scarcity is acute. Marla quoted the villagers she met there, who were hoping Water 1st could raise the funds needed for their project, "Please don’t give up. We have existed for so long without anyone listening. It means so much that you have returned."

Marla concluded, "I know the world's problems cannot be fixed without any cost to myself. I am ready to make that commitment, because with all the uncertainties in life, I am certain about one thing: I want the value of my life to be measured in terms of kindness and mercy and nothing else.
This is the world we were born into, but I know we are not powerless to change it. I want to leave my children with a world where these gross inequities do not exist. I am sure that all the other children on Earth deserve no less.

Thank you for your compassion for people in need of safe water. Through your contributions, you will save lives, you will change lives in Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh and Honduras. You will give families today the chance to have a better life – it will no longer be a dream they hold for the next generation.”

$80,000 Matching Grant

Master of Ceremonies and staff member Kirk Anderson led the call for funding after the film. "Now we have an opportunity to take an action that will save lives and eliminate that long walk to the water source and the longer walk home with a heavy container of water. Whether you are able to give $25,000 or $150 dollars, your donation will substantially improve and often save the lives of people in the world who are truly in need." Donations $500 and higher were matched, thanks to a few Water 1st supporters who generously created a $80,000 matching fund. Kirk said, "One of the satisfying things about giving to Water 1st is that whatever amount you choose to give, we can put it to good use in the coming year. We’re not waiting for a solution to the problem to be discovered, we’re not held up by permits from the government. We’re not offering a solution that no one wants to adopt. The sole factor in determining how much we are able to accomplish next year is what you, our supporters, decide to entrust to us."

For the program’s conclusion, guests opened their hearts and checkbooks and then awaited Board Chair Jim Moore’s grateful announcement: $444,000 had just been raised—funds that will go a long way in the year ahead to save and improve lives 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.

2007 Give Water • Give Life Event Sponsors:

In–Kind Sponsors: