Charitable Partner Spotlight: Water First
In honour of World Water Day today, this blog post will be the final of a three-part charity partner spotlight series.
There is nothing more important than clean water, yet at any given time there are more than 100 drinking water advisories in numerous First Nations communities across Canada.
For our fourth and final charitable partner spotlight of the week we want to introduce you to one of Fill it Forward’s newest charitable partners: Water First–an Ontario based non-profit organization dedicated to helping First Nation communities across Canada solve local water challenges through education, training and meaningful collaboration.
Founded in 2009, Water First began its work in Uganda, bringing drinking water resources to rural schools. However, in 2012 Water First began working with First Nations communites in Canada after being challenged and inspired by community members on why they weren’t working with Indigenous communities in Canada exepriencing water challenges.
Water First’s projects with First Nations communities were initially small but grew quickly. Within a few years, their collaborations with First Nations communities accounted for nearly 90% of program resources. Water First dedicated itself exclusively to working with First Nations communities in 2016. And has sinced focused primarily on water treatment training and skill development.
Hiring and training locally, Water First’s programs ensure that skills and knowledge stay in communities long after each project is completed. The organization also runs workshops for youth with hands-on learning activits in schools, labs and on traditional land.
To date, Water First has collaborated with over 40 Indigenous communites in Ontario, Quebec and Labrador on a variety of education and training projects focusing on drinking water and environmental water.
Water First is working to help solve the drinking water crisis for First Nations communities. And is an organzation we here at Cupanion are excited to start supporting with our Fill it Forward Initiative.
So, this World Water Day let’s Fill it Forward to help end the world water crisis! Every time you refill and scan your Fill it Forward tag between March 22nd and 29th 2019, Cupanion will “double up” and give two cups of clean water to people in need!
