How Far Will You Go For Water?
How far will you go for water today? If you’re like me, you just have to walk to your sink. Is that 4 feet? Maybe 4 meters?
On Saturday, May 7, you're encouraged to run 4 Miles 4 Water because that’s the distance many poeple in the world travel for their water. Your Ohio City neighbor, Drink Local. Drink Tap. (DLDT), works to shorten that distance by creating ACCESS to safe drinking water in Uganda. But the work starts here at home, with critical EDUCATION programs in Northeast Ohio (NEO) schools, many right here in our own neighborhoods. DLDT also creates opportunities for ACTIVISM at beach cleanups and festivals just down the road at Edgewater Park.
EDUCATION + ACTIVISM + ACCESS = DLDT’s Life Changing Work
Our neighbors in Ohio City and Tremont are invited to participate in the race, Guinness World Record attempt, fun-filled festival, concert, or even the new vegan food court. The Groccery OHC will be one of our food partners that day (thanks Rachel) as well as some familiar food trucks like Barrio (yum). This family-friendly festival is FREE to attend. Participants will also have the opportunity to register for a 4-mile race or 1-mile walk.
As opposed to a traditional 5k race, this course is 4 miles because it is indicative of the average distance a person in developing areas of the world must to walk to obtain water. Runners will have the option of carrying a gallon of water for the last quarter-mile to signify the difficulty others face when forced to carry their water supply on a daily basis. Instead of receiving a race t-shirt, which requires roughly 700 gallons of water to produce, participants will receive a stainless steel water bottle to help them kick their disposable plastic bottled water habit!
4 Miles 4 Water is presented in partnership with Pure Water Technology and Cleveland MetroParks with support from Kinetico, Moen, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Great Lakes Brewing Co., Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, and more. 100% of the proceeds of the event will be used for projects to provide safe water to those in need in east Africa, clean up Cleveland’s water resources, and educate local students on the importance of water locally and globally. Registration and more details can be found at www.4miles4water.org.
Gail Palmer
Gail Palmer is the event planner for DLDT -- and a happy Ohio City resident.