FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Pure Water for the World Receives Chick-fil-A Foundation’s True Inspiration Award
Rutland, VT – November 16, 2016. The Chick-fil-A Foundation recently held its annual True Inspiration Awards contest. This is the third year the Chick-fil-A Foundation has granted the True Inspiration Awards, which were created to honor the legacy of S. Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A’s founder. Chick-fil-A customers were asked to help select the recipients of more than $1.1 million in grants by voting on Chick-fil-A’s mobile app. More than 76,000 customers voted, nationwide, helping to select the final 12 winners.
Pure Water for the World, Inc. (PWW) is honored to have received the most votes for the Northeast region. PWW is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to improve the health and livelihood of children and families, living in underserved communities in Central America and the Caribbean, by providing effective tools and education to establish sustainable safe water, hygiene and sanitation solutions.
The Chick-fil-A Foundation’s True Inspiration Award received by PWW will fund the implementation of comprehensive safe water, sanitation and hygiene programs that will reach 19 schools in the very rural, dispersed Trojes region of Honduras, reaching 581 students, their teachers, school staff, and parents. Each school will receive clean water filters and water access support (as needed), gender-specific latrines, handwashing stations, and essential education programs to promote safe and healthy hygiene practices. The local Honduras PWW team will provide comprehensive follow-up and monitoring support to ensure project efficacy and sustainability.
Children in this highly underserved region of Honduras regularly suffer from a variety of intestinal and skin diseases caused by their heavily contaminated water sources. Frequent illnesses effect the healthy development of their brains and bodies and result in missed school days, which further impacts their future opportunities.
“This grant will help us continue our great momentum in bringing life-changing safe water, hygiene and sanitation solutions to children and their families in the rural Trojes region,” states Carolyn Crowley Meub, Executive Director of Pure Water for the World. “Through these programs, children, teachers and families receive the essential tools and knowledge to support a much healthier, brighter future.”
Wade Bradford, Operator/Owner of Chick-fil-A Hwy 6 @ West Little York, Texas, and Michael McFerren, Operator/Owner of Chick-fil-As in Abington and Aberdeen Maryland, and at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, jointly nominated PWW for the True Inspiration Award. Bradford traveled to Honduras, as a volunteer, on a trip with PWW. He was deeply inspired by the positive results he witnessed, firsthand, among the children, families and communities PWW served.
“One of my most memorable moments in Honduras was riding up the dirt road to install a latrine in the mountainous area outside of Trojes. The 2½- mile, 4-hour trip was very rough, but the PWW team was right there with us. For them to make these types of trips daily took real dedication and care for others. They represented a true Servants’ Heart,” recalls Bradford. “It was amazing to see how happy and proud the families were to have received safe water filters. We even visited the local city health clinic and saw how they were tracking the work being done by PWW. They showed us that the children were no longer sick and visiting the clinic. The kids could go to school instead of staying home sick. Thank you, PWW, for your heartfelt efforts to improve the lives of others.”
In Trojes, Honduras, waterborne illness is the leading cause of disease, both acute and chronic. Children bear the burden of diarrheal disease and chronic episodes contribute to malnutrition, school absenteeism and poor school performance.
The Trojes region of Honduras is located on the south, along the Nicaraguan border. There are approximately 62,000 residents dispersed among 300+ rural communities. The average income in the region is $1.25 per day.
To date, PWW has reached 115 of these communities, serving more than 60 schools and over 4,700 individual families, with safe water, hygiene and sanitation solutions. Learn more about PWW and their work in Honduras on their website at http://purewaterfortheworld.org/.
About Pure Water for The World:
Pure Water for the World is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to improve the health and livelihood of children and families, living in underserved communities in Central America and the Caribbean, by providing effective tools and education to establish sustainable safe water, hygiene and sanitation solutions.
Pure Water for the World has partnered with over 200 communities, reaching more than 750,000 people in Haiti and Central America with life-changing, sustainable safe water, hygiene and sanitation solutions.
For more information, visit www.purewaterfortheworld.org.
Contact: Jamin Gelder, Program Manager
Pure Water for the World
P.O. Box 55
Rutland, VT 05702
Phone: 802-747-0778
Fax: 802-773-8575
Email: jamin.gelder@purewaterfortheworld.org
About the Chick-fil-A® Foundation
The Chick-fil-A® Foundation is the corporate foundation of Chick-fil-A, Inc. A not-for-profit organization, the Foundation’s purpose is to lead the company’s commitment to support youth and education in Chick-fil-A’s local communities. The Foundation’s work is focused on developing and educating young people so they can build a positive legacy and become all they were created to be. For more information, visit www.chick-fil-afoundation.org
About Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is a family owned and privately held restaurant company founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy. Devoted to serving the local communities in which its franchised restaurants operate, and known for its original chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A serves freshly prepared food in more than 2,000 restaurants in 45 states and Washington, D.C.
Chick-fil-A system sales exceeded $6 billion in 2015, which marks 48 consecutive years of sales growth. Chick-fil-A earned a top spot in the 2015 Customer Service Hall of Fame for the second year in a row and is the only quick service restaurant to make the Customer Service Hall of Fame. The company was also the only restaurant brand named to the Top 10 “Best Companies to Work For” by 24/7 Wall Street. More information on Chick-fil-A is available on the chain’s website located at www.chick-fil-a.com.
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