Schools
Educating children (and adults) on the need and impact of accessible clean water is a key part of the Run for Water story.
Clean water isn’t available to everyone, but it can be and should be!
Most Canadians have easy access to an abundance of clean water.
Clean water is a solvable problem, with a variety of solutions.
Access to clean water creates a "ripple" effect that improves health, education, safety, economy, longevity, well-being, and personal dignity.
The best people to develop and implement solutions are the people closest to the water sources, our partners in Africa. Partnering with "strangers" quickly builds global friendships.
We can partner globally with communities facing water challenges.
Global engagement can start with local community activities here in Canada!
We want everYone to know
About 1 billion people globally don’t have accessible clean water sources.
In Ethiopia, that number is above 40 million people! That’s why Run For Water is partnering with rural communities in Ethiopia.
GETTING ACTIVE IS IMPORTANT, TOO
Motivating children (and adults) to get physically active also has positive ripple effects. We encourage schools to hold running events, to enter teams in the Run for Water 5km race, and to volunteer at our race events.
Ways to GET INVOLVED
SHOW
Plan a class or assembly, we’ll send a representative to come and speak (and show) what Run for Water is doing right now in Ethiopia and why clean water is important. Email us at schools@runforwater.ca
RUN
Plan a “mini-run” for water:
1. Choose a course around your school.
2. Students run the selected course with a short introduction about the need for clean water in Ethiopia.
GIVE
Fundraise as a class – or as a school. Teach your students about the impact that clean water can have on your community.
Race
Bring a team of students, and their families, to the Run for Water 5 km run at Mill Lake. Enter as a group to receive discount registration pricing!
WALK
Introduce the challenge of clean water by having students walk with jerry cans or plastic milk jugs to and from a nearby water source to give them a sense of life without easily available clean water.
Teach
Use our specially designed Science and STEM curriculum to give students a deeper and richer sense of the need and impact of accessible clean water around the globe.
Run For Water’s STEM Curriculum
about the curriculum
FREE to use, free to engage with Run for Water
Made for grades K-7
Designed by teachers, for teachers
A holistic mix of activities, theory and examples
Satisfies a number of elements of mandatory curriculum components
Coming soon - sample lesson plan!
Get the curriculum!
If your school is interested in using Run for Water’s FREE STEM curriculum to educate and encourage children to get involved in a global issue, email us at schools@runforwater.ca.
Are you Ready?
We’d love to connect with you!
Contact our team about bringing Run For Water to your school! Email us at schools@runforwater.ca.
A member of our team will respond with curriculum ideas and resources. Depending on availability, we may be able to visit your school.
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Yes. While our ability to be present at your school may depend on geography, any school can show, run, walk, give, race, and teach about the global need for more accessible, clean water.
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No. Run for Water education resources and speakers are free.
While there is a registration fee to participate in the Run for Water race in Abbotsford, groups from schools receive a discount – and kids’ registration fees are less expensive.
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Run for Water is a community organization, with no requirement to participate in a faith community to volunteer, serve on our board, use our resources, or participate as an athlete in a race or an event. We welcome everyone in our community, regardless of beliefs, to help those who need clean water. We work with partners on the ground in Ethiopia who may come from faith communities. Any water system we help build is open to anyone, regardless of belief.
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Our curriculum combines geography, science, social change, visual media, and impactful stories that will resonate with children of all ages.
Students will hear both sides of the story: water conditions in other countries and how we, in Canada, can partner with water-scarce communities.
1. We will discuss water conditions in other countries:
— The real need for clean water;
— Some parts of the world need water (we’ll use examples from Ethiopia);
— The day-to-day challenges that come with not having clean water;
— The living conditions of communities without clean water.
2. We will identify ways we can help here in Canada:
— Solutions for water conditions;
— People of all ages can help;
— Advocacy by young people can be the start of social change in Canada and around the world;
— Working together and working hard (like running a race!) can change the lives of people we haven’t even met
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Funds raised are managed by Run for Water, a registered Canadian charity (82994 6037 RR0001), for water projects in Ethiopia.
Most of Run for Water’s costs – which are mostly event-related – are covered by corporate sponsorships at events. This allows donations to have the greatest impact on water projects in Ethiopia.
The Run for Water Foundation works with implementing partners to build wells and set up Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programming in Ethiopia. Our implementing partners are Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), which has been actively working on relief, development (like water systems) and peace programs in Ethiopia for over five decades. They partner with Afro Ethiopia Integrated Development (AEID), an Ethiopian organization which coordinates with MCC in Ethiopia to engage local communities, drill wells, and initiate WASH programming in villages. -
Run for Water was founded in 2009 by visionaries who knew from first-hand experience the deep need for clean water in Ethiopia. They also knew that Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley could help others address that need.
Since then, Run for Water has grown into a well-loved athletic event in the Fraser Valley community. Clean water impacts everyone, so we like to motivate the entire community – all ages, all backgrounds – to get involved in this great cause!
Encouraging young people to educate themselves about clean water and giving them an opportunity to get involved has been part of the Run for Water vision from very early on. We’ve partnered with educators for a decade, encouraging them to bring the clean water story to their students in creative and participatory ways.
FAQ’s from schools
