American Water Employees Donate $193,000 to Water For People
American Water Works Company, Inc has raised $193,227 for Water For People, the majority of which was collected through employee contributions in its company-wide 2010 fundraising campaign.
In addition, American Water will sponsor Dave Yungermann, an operations manager with Missouri American Water, to participate in a four-day Water For People field visit in Bolivia in September. Yungermann, who resides in St. Louis, was selected at random from a list of employees who contributed a minimum of $20 per month to the campaign. The field visit will give Yungermann the opportunity to personally witness Water For People’s activities in Bolivia by visiting developing sanitation projects, observing first-hand the improvements in the water system and interacting with the residents who benefit from these efforts.
“Once again, American Water employees have shown their commitment to assist Water For People in realizing its vision of a world where no one has to suffer from water- or sanitation-related disease,” said Ellen Wolf, chief financial officer of American Water, chair of the company’s 2010 giving campaign, and an active volunteer for Water For People.
“The continued generosity and support of companies like American Water has enabled Water For People to achieve nearly all its 2011 goals a full two years ahead of schedule, and to set even more aggressive goals in our strategic plan for 2010-2014 to build long-lasting solutions that eradicate water poverty,” said Ned Breslin, chief executive officer of Water For People.
American Water has made an annual contribution to Water For People since it was established 19 years ago, and to date has contributed approximately $1.4 million.
Founded in 1991, Water For People is an international, nonprofit humanitarian organization that focuses on long-lasting, safe drinking water resources and improved sanitation facilities in the developing world. While Water For People is in its 20th year of work it focuses not on creating a dependency on charity in the 11 countries it works in, but rather creating the ability of the local community to plan, build, finance, maintain and operate their own systems. The organization works in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America to show that its successful programs are adaptable around the world and can be replicated anywhere. In 2009 it served over 325,000 beneficiaries.