Take a Sip, Save a Life
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 19, 2010) – With several hundred thousand in Haiti homeless, starving for a meal and thirsty for clean water, Food For The Poor will launch Water Week,March 21 through March 27, 2010. The weeklong donation drive, with the slogan “Take a sip, save a life!” will raise money to bring much-needed water solutions to Haiti. World Water Day is celebrated annually on March 22 to focus attention on the world’s water crisis.
“The idea came to us before the earthquake struck,” said Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma. “We wanted to invite our neighboring businesses to participate in an effort to help bring clean, safe water in the countries we serve. On the evening of Jan. 12, we knew our focus needed to shift to bringing this life-saving resource to Haiti. The local community is constantly seeking ways to help, and this is one way they can.”
Aloma added that the idea of a simple drive like Water Week appealed to him. People can participate and help Haiti by doing something that is part of their regular routine- enjoying a meal at one of the many restaurants in our neighboring communities.
Water Week works like this- patrons visit a participating restaurant and are served a glass of water. The restaurant staff then offers their patrons the opportunity to donate $1 or more for the glass of water. All proceeds will go directly to helping Food For The Poor bring water wells and water purification systems to Haiti. Some participating restaurant owners and managers are matching a generous portion of their customers’ donations at the end of the week.
One restaurant, The Whale Raw Bar & Fishhouse jumped at the chance to help Haiti and participate in this locally driven initiative. They offered to host the Water Week kickoff event on Sunday, March 21, from 1 to 6 p.m. at their restaurant located on U.S. 441 in Parkland. In addition, the restaurant owner said they would match 50 percent of their guests’ donations to Food For The Poor. During the kickoff event, Food For The Poor staff will be on hand to answer any questions about the organization and Water Week.
Additionally, representatives from Food For The Poor’s Young Professionals Club will be at The Whale to support the campaign and provide information about Water Week. For more information about this group please visit: www.foodforthepoor.org/youngprofessionals.
Enjoy a meal at The Whale or any of the following participating restaurants and help families in Haiti have access to clean water.
Restaurants to participate in Water Week include:
The Whale Raw Bar & Fish House, 7619 N State Road 7, Parkland, FL; 160 Degrees & The Muffuletta, 4437 Lyons Road Suite E-105, Coconut Creek, FL; Japango, 7367 North State Road 7, Parkland, FL; le Bistro, 4626 N. Federal Hwy, Lighthouse Point, FL; Oceans 234, 234 Northeast 21st Avenue, Deerfield Beach, FL; Tim Finnegan’s Irish Pub, 1725 South Federal Highway, Delray Beach, FL; Restorante Sapori, 99 Royal Palm Way, Boca Raton, FL; Howley’s Restaurant, 4700 South Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL; and Rock Steady – Jamaican Jerk Café, 1179 South Federal Hwy
Boca Raton, FL.
To see a complete list of participating Water Week restaurants, and to donate to this life- saving cause, visit www.foodforthepoor.org/waterweek. To add your restaurant to the list of participants please contact Food For The Poor’s Public Relations Department at [email protected].
Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the United States, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org.
Contact:
Aimee Vignola
Public Relations
954.427.2222, ext. 6079