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photo above: Jim (left) and Jerry, Venice 1985
[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=”JAMES LEE ENNIS:” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Oswald%3A300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_custom_heading text=”AN EXTRAORDINARY LEGACY” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Oswald%3A300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_custom_heading text=”$250,000 BEQUEST TO WATER1ST” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Oswald%3A300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]We are honored to announce Water1st International’s second Country Level Sponsor for 2015 — Jim Ennis. Country Level Sponsors are individuals or institutions who contribute $250,000 or more in a single calendar year.
Jim Ennis began supporting Water1st when friends invited him and his partner, Jerry, to attend the Seattle Give Water Give Life event in 2011. Jim felt particularly drawn to Water1st’s work as a result of that evening and he did his homework—he gathered information about our projects and compared our financial reports to other groups in this sector. The Give Water Give Life event became an important date on Jim and Jerry’s annual calendar.
Jim made a heroic effort to attend last year’s Give Water Give Life event as he was in the latter stages of his long battle with cancer. He knew he didn’t have much longer to live. Unbeknownst to us, he also designated Water1st as the primary beneficiary of his estate, to ensure that his legacy would be providing thousands of people with clean water for life. A week after the 2014 event, Jim passed away.
Upon his death, we learned that he gifted Water1st more than $250,000 in his will. Most people associate gifts of this magnitude with large foundations and corporations. At one point in his life, Jim’s address was the 32nd floor of one of First Hill’s most prestigious addresses. But it wasn’t his home address, it was his work address. He was the house manager for one of Seattle’s most prominent families.
So in the economic spectrum, Jim Ennis probably found himself in the middle class. He was an average guy with aspirations to do something extraordinary for the world’s poorest people. He is the perfect example of Water1st’s belief that everyone can have a profound impact on the world.
Jim Ennis joins Brian and Diane Langstraat as Country Level Sponsors for 2015. Water1st International thanks both Jim and Diane and Brian for the incredible change they are making in the lives of those who desperately need access to clean water and a toilet. The generosity of these two supporters alone will allow Water1st to provide water and toilets to nearly 7,000 people in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Honduras in 2016. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]
Interested in including Water1st in your will? Email or call us at (206) 297-3024.
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