Drink Water To Give Water: One Resident’s Campaign To Provide A Well For Strangers

By Shannon Hicks

How often have you gone to a restaurant and drunk from, or even ignored, the glass of water that was put down by a server?

Newtown resident David Plaue was on disability recently, recovering from some knee surgery, when his mind began playing with that question. How often do we drink from those glasses of water? How often to we do so without thinking? Do we take that water for granted?

We probably do, and Mr Plaue began to think about others who cannot take their clean drinking water for granted. He has launched a campaign he has called Drink Water To Give Water, and is asking Newtown residents to consider dropping just a dollar or two into any of the empty one-gallon water jugs that have been placed around town. All donations will be forwarded to Charity: Water, a New York-based charity dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. According to Charity: Water, one billion people on the planet — one person in eight — do not have access to clean, safe drinking water.

“During the recent storm, many of us went without power, and therefore water, for a few days, and we felt like it was the worst thing in the world,” Mr Plaue said recently, referring to Tropical Storm Irene. Residents were reminded this past weekend of how much we take our water supply for granted following an unusual pre-Halloween storm. “Fortunately, we knew that that was a limited thing. The power and water were coming back,” he said, adding, “I began thinking that I should be doing something for others.”

Mr Plaue and his wife Gina sponsor a child in Peru through World Vision, so he was interested to see what that nonprofit organization’s founder, Richard E. Stearns, had to say in his book, The Hole in Our Gospel. The book explores how anyone can use their time, talents and/or money to better the world.

“Part of this book’s message is simple: We have it pretty good,” Mr Plaue said. “We don’t even realize it. And while we do a lot to help others, we can always do more.”

One of the topics Mr Stearns returns to in The Hole in Our Gospel a few times is the Earth’s water supply, and problems so much of the world’s population has in obtaining clean water for healthy living.

“I started looking into water and issues, and that’s what I discovered Charity: Water,” said Mr Plaue. “We take water so for granted. We all have wells, and many are connected to water lines. You don’t think about it when you turn on the tap and clean, drinkable water comes out.

“Sure there were problems during [Tropical Storm Irene], but you could still go to the store, your neighbors, even the fire department to access a water supply,” he said. “If an individual’s day is consumed with getting water, and then that water is probably contaminated, they need help. I can help.”

Mr Plaue is hoping to collect $6,500, the cost to provide a deep water well for a community of 250 in Africa who do not have access to clean water. He is hoping to reach this goal before the end of the year.

All money collected in the water jugs will be donated to Charity: Water, which in turn will use all of the money collected for its clean water projects. Its employees are paid through a privately administered fund, so none of the donations it receives goes to administrative costs that plague many other charities and nonprofits.

“I really like that all the money we collect is really going toward fundraising,” Mr Plaue told The Newtown Bee. “I love that you have this organization that has found a way to pay its staff through private funds.”

Those who donate to Mr Plaue’s collection can join donors around the world who have participated in Charity: Water projects in watching where their money goes. The foundation’s website regularly updates each of its projects to show when equipment is being purchased, and where it is being used to create wells. Within 18 months, its myCharity: Water page promises, donors can see where their dollars have gone.

In its five years of existence, Charity: Water says it has raised $40 million, and funded more than 4,280 water projects, from hand-dug wells, rehabilitations, and spring protections to rainwater catchments and BioSand filters, an updated adaptation of the centuries old slow sand filtration process, intended for use in rural homes where naturally safe or treated water sources are not available.

Charity: Water has been able to provide clean water to two million people in 19 countries, which now include Bolivia and Guatemala; the two countries were added to Charity: Water’s outreach this year.

Charity: Water has achieved the highest rating as a four-star rated charity for its Financials and Accountability & Transparency by Charity Navigator, the industry standard for charity rankings. It offers full backing on its website, charitywater.org.

 Local Collection Points

Among the locations that are participating in Mr Plaue’s Drink Water To Give Water campaign are Bagel Delight (30 Church Hill Road), The Blue Colony Diner (66 Church Hill Road), Carminuccio’s (76 South Main Street), demitasse café (5 Glen Road), Figs Wood Fired Bistro (105 Church Hill Road), Franco’s Pizza & Pasta (228 South Main Street, in Sand Hill Plaza), The Happy Cheesesteak (150 South Main Street), The Hideaway Café (127 South Main Street), Mexicali Rose (71 South Main Street, within Ricky’s Shopping Center), My Place Restaurant (8 Queen Street), Newtown Deli & Catering (79 South Main Street), Pizza Palace (65 Church Hill Road), Stone River Grille (1 Glen Road), Swanky Frank’s (314 South Main Street), Sweet Mango (266 South Main Street), Tambascio’s Italian Grill (1 Dodgingtown Road), and Village Square Diner (43 South Main Street).

Nonrestaurant locations have also begun signing on including Club NewFit, which has information and one of Mr Plaue’s containers on its front counter; along with Church Hill Physical Therapy and Fun Kuts.

The Newtown Bee is also keeping a water jug in its front office for Mr Plaue, who was also propelled to begin the project, he said, after reading a book Mr Stearns’s book.

Additional locations are being confirmed.

Visitors to two locations in town will not see water jugs on the counters, but have both donated to Mr Plaue’s efforts. Sal e Pepe and Papa Al’s restaurants opted out of hosting the jugs, but both offered straight donations for the collection effort.

“I understand their reasoning,” Mr Plaue said. “I appreciate their help.”

In addition, Mona Lisa Restaurant will not have a water jug at its hostess station, but a laminated card placed at each table, Mr Plaue has been told, will inform diners of the Drink Water To Give Water collection. Customers will have the option of leaving a few extra dollars with their bill or making a donation to the organization.

In addition to all of the water jugs around town, Mr Plaue has a dedicated website through Charity: Water that will allow anyone who wants to, to make a donation toward his efforts. Visit mycharitywater.org/drinkwatertogivewater to put through a secure credit card transaction. While Mr Plaue’s page opens to a suggestion of a $42 donation, in honor of his recent birthday, donations of any size are appreciated, he emphasized.

Checks can also be written and mailed to Mr Plaue for the effort. They should be made out to Charity: Water, and Mr Plaue says donors should be sure to put MYCW-20515 on the memo line so that donations will go toward his collection instead of the organization’s general fund.

As of November 2, Mr Plaue’s campaign had already reached $934.

Additional Ways To Help

In addition to the donations he will be receiving, Mr Plaue said there are a few more ways people can help his campaign.

He can always use additional one-gallon milk or water jugs (cleaned and dry, preferably), which will be placed around town for donations.

Restaurants and businesses, in and around Newtown, are also welcome to join the effort.

“I was focused on Newtown to begin this campaign simply due to the restrictions on my knee during recovery, but this is in no way a ‘Newtown only’ collection,” he said. “Non-Newtown restaurants and businesses are definitely welcome to help out.”