For those that do not want to listen to the video, here is the Reader's Digest Condensed version:

My name is Chuck and I am a Graduate student at Eastern Washington University.  Part of my education program is an internship with a small tribal community that has limited resources for development of programs and improvement of facilities. 

As an eternal champion for basic human rights I want to provide the kids at the local school where I spend most of my time a clean, low odor, and great tasting water source to encourage them to drink more water.


Their current water supply is an old porcelain drinking station that just barely spits water out.  The water here is heavily chlorinated to make it "suitable for human consumption", but the smell is overpowering and the kids do not drink water.

The long and the short of it is I want to be able to provide clean, drinkable water for my kids.  I am hoping you can help!  I want to be able to show these kids that I had an idea which I turned into an action, and with the help of my community, my social network, I was able to make this idea reality.


I am partnering with Brita's Hydration Stations for Schools Program to make this a reality.  Though my approach is different than their standard fundraising technique they have given me full blessing to proceed and will honor the cost of this program.  This is the most cost effective and easiest maintenance system on the market.  Not only that but for the normal cost of a water bottle refilling station and installation we are also getting 300 water bottles, that is one for every student and every staff member.

 There are multiple benefits to installation of a water bottle refilling station.
1.  Elimination of a great deal of plastic waste. 
2.  Taking kids a step away from sugary drinks.
3.  Providing a source of water that smells and tastes good.
4.  Promoting better brain development and cognitive response time.  Yep. Science stuffs.


The amount covers the cost/installation/shipping for the water bottle refilling station, the cost of the 300 personalized Nalgene water bottles, and the 5% fees from GoFundme.  This is the exact amount needed to make this a reality.  

Breakdown of Cost:
Brita Hydration Station            $1550
Shipping for Station                    $      70
2 Replacement filters                 $    180
300 Nalgene water bottles     $1335
Installation (local bid)                 $   400
5% GoFundMe fees                    $  177
TOTAL                                                 $3712

If we raise additional funds by some freak chance we will pour said funds into either additional water bottle refilling stations or into the Fall projects that these students create in their minds.  The goal is to have these funds by the end of April so that I can present this gift to the school in May.

This effort is a precursor to a community development and mentoring program I am implementing next Fall with the blessing of the Tribal Council and the school administration.  Ideas to improve the community will come from the minds of the students and with a designated community partner we will make as many of their ideas a reality.  Each effort will be heavily documented so that all successes can be shared with other rural communities and global interest groups that may be inspired by our efforts.

Water is Life.  Take a stand with me.  One clean water source for the children of this school district should inspire others to do the same.  If we can show the world how easy it is to partner with the community to make small dreams a reality hopefully others will be inspired to the same.

Thank you for your interest and help in making this happen.  If you have any questions about the program don't hesitate to contact me.