ITT Watermark to Helps Schools in Asia, Latin America
ITT Corp. on Aug. 18 announced a new corporate philanthropy program, ITT Watermark, which includes an initial three-year, $3 million commitment to help provide safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education to 300 schools in the developing world -- a pledge that will ultimately improve the lives of more than 100,000 children and their families.
ITT, a global leader in the transport and treatment of water, will work through its strategic partner, Water For People, a non-profit international development organization, to improve water and sanitation conditions in schools in Latin America and Asia.
Working with Water For People, ITT will provide support to enable the development of new local infrastructure to bring water and sanitation to remote schools, provide resources to repair existing systems, and assist in the creation of innovative hygiene education initiatives. During the balance of 2008, ITT will support 50 schools in Latin America and Asia, including schools in West Bengal, India; Quiche, Guatemala; and Yoro, Honduras. The company will extend its support to an additional 100 schools in 2009, and another 150 schools in 2010.
"In establishing a corporate philanthropy program, we set out to harness our talented and caring employees, technological capabilities, and financial resources in a way that would make a difference in the lives of the next generation in a sustainable way," said Steve Loranger, chair, president, and chief executive officer.
ITT and Water For People will deploy a sustainable model that creates local water committees in the communities where the schools are located. The committees will take ownership for the projects and maintain the facilities long after the infrastructure is built. In addition, the partners will return to each school one year after implementation to monitor the safe water systems and three years later to evaluate their success.