H2O for Life Water Ball Smashes Record, Raises Over $200,000
Roughly 300 philanthropists, humanitarians and H2O for Life supporters spent a Saturday night in September celebrating H2O for Life’s mission and work at the 9th annual Water Ball gala at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis, sponsored by Kinetico Water Systems.
The night featured auction items befitting the best of bucket lists, such as a South African photo safari in the Zulu Nyala Game Reserve, vacations to Mexico and Aruba, unique dining experiences, and sports opportunities with the Gophers, Wild, Timberwolves and more.
An anonymous donor surprised everyone, including H2O for Life staff, stepping up to offer a one-to-one match for every dollar raised during the Fund-a-Need and pushing revenues past the $200,000 mark.
2018 Water Ball: By the numbers
Admissions sold: 292
Dinner tables set: 32
Auction items: 146
$100 donations: 23
$500 donations: 10
Total dollars raised: $203,400
The stories we tell
844 million people – about 1 in 9 worldwide – lack access to safe water. More alarmingly, about 2.3 billion people – 1 in 3 – don’t have access to a toilet. A toilet! More people around the world own cell phones than have access to a toilet.
Numbers tell a story. But are they the best way to really paint a picture? Statistics and figures and data graphs lack that emotional punch that we find in personal stories, which is why H2O for Life dubbed this year’s gala “The Stories We Tell” and focused on personal stories from two superstar students and a dedicated teacher.
Rising stars
Two sisters from New York City traveled with their family to share their H2O for Life story in Minneapolis. Ella, a sophomore at New York City’s Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering is one half of Sisters4Water. Mabel, a fourth grader at Muscota New School in New York City is the other half of Sisters4Water.
“Through H20 for Life, we have learned so much about the value of clean water in the world, and how it impacts women, education, and ending the cruel cycle of poverty. Thank you for inviting us here tonight to meet all the wonderful people who have made our story possible.” ~ Sisters4Water
On the front edge of education
Chris Heffernan is a 7th grade social studies teacher at Jefferson Junior High in Naperville, Illinois. His passion for global education has inspired him to focus his energy on helping students not just learn about the global water crisis, but to do something about it. Chris spoke candidly about his introduction to the water crisis and how one 13 year old student pushed him to do more.
“You made the choice to come here tonight because you know the amazing work that is done by H2O for Life. You know that schools all over the world benefit because of the amazing work done by this charity. You made the choice to come here tonight because you care.” ~ Chris Heffernan
Thank you
We would like to thank our event sponsors; Kinetico Water Systems, Mains’l Services, Bust Out Solutions, Graphic Resources, Kurt Johnson Auctioneering, Midway Container Inc., and APi Group. A special shout out to all of our volunteers who donated countless hours to make the 2018 Water Ball our most successful yet. And last, but not least, we’d like to thank all attendees and donors. You make this life-changing and life-saving work possible. We appreciate each and every one of you!
Check out more gala pics on Facebook.