{"id":4010,"date":"2011-03-22T12:24:17","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T17:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/?p=4010"},"modified":"2017-11-28T10:54:56","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T15:54:56","slug":"just-because-im-8-years-old-doesnt-mean-i-cant-do-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/2011\/03\/22\/just-because-im-8-years-old-doesnt-mean-i-cant-do-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Just because I\u2019m 8 years old doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t do this"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Winn Murray is an 8 year old boy in Macon, Georgia who is changing lives \u2026 not only in Africa where his fund raising efforts will bring clean water, but right in his home town.\u00a0 In fact, Winn\u2019s simple but bold act of caring has inspired \u00a07 more schools in Macon to get involved.\u00a0 In fact to date, we’ve sent out over 1,000 wristbands that proclaim \u201cI\u2019m Giving Water!\u201d to these schools … wrist bands just like Winn and his classmates wore in early March when they carried water for a day to raise awareness and support for clean water.<\/p>\n

You can support Winn’s Fundraiser here \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Michelle Gowan, Winn\u2019s REACH teacher, shared with us, \u201cThis year, our curriculum focus has been infusing technology into our discussions of scarcity of food, energy and water around the world. When we studied the inequitable distribution of resources around the world, my class decided to purchase a goat to send to an African family. They collected about $130 by doing extra chores and we donated the goat through World Vision. When I began my lessons on water, I really had no intention of building a well because it was difficult enough for us to get enough to buy a goat!\u201d\u00a0 But Mrs. Gowan wasn\u2019t counting on Winn! \u00a0He decided to do something.\u00a0 The issues of unclean water resonated with him, and he started his own hometown revolution.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Winn came home from school one day and was counting to 15, only to start counting to 15 all over again.\u00a0 As reported in the local newspaper, Winn\u2019s Mom Tiffany asked what Winn was doing.\u00a0 He promptly informed her that every 15 seconds a child dies from water borne illness.\u00a0 (read the full article here<\/a>.) \u00a0Winn gets it \u2026the issues are real, and they matter to families all over the world. \u00a0Winn took the steps to setup a personal fundraising page<\/a> for a well project.\u00a0 And he brought the idea back to Mrs. Gowan.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, I taught my lesson, checked it off of my lesson plan and prepared to move on….but the teacher can’t move on if the children won’t come with her! Winn came back to class with his water bracelets and we began to discuss how we might be able to contribute something even if it was not enough to build an entire well.\u201d, says Mrs. Gowan.\u00a0 They decided to carry water, and soon the whole school wanted to get involved.\u00a0 Then other schools caught on and joined the movement.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The other schools will be donating to Winn\u2019s fundraising page with the goal to raise enough for a well project.\u00a0 And I hear that Winn was invited to speak to the school board, and is being asked by some of the other schools to come and speak to the students and raise awareness. \u00a0\u00a0The community of Macon won\u2019t be the same, and communities in Africa will be the better for it.<\/p>\n

As Winn\u2019s Mom Tiffany shared with us, \u201cThis has become an incredibly educational experience in so many ways and we are constantly amazed at the random acts of kindness committed by other people, often people we have never seen or even met. \u201c\u00a0 Further, she encourages us all with, \u201cMaybe our story, Macon’s story, will inspire others to think globally and act locally in their own hometowns.\u201d<\/p>\n

We think Winn, his family, his class, and the community of Macon, are well on their way to doing just that!<\/p>\n

As of World Water Day, March 22nd – we got word that Winn has raised over $6,500.\u00a0 Enough for his first entire well!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winn Murray is an 8 year old boy in Macon, Georgia who is changing lives \u2026 not only in Africa where his fund raising efforts will bring clean water, but right in his home town.\u00a0 In fact, Winn\u2019s simple but bold act of caring has inspired \u00a07 more schools in Macon to get involved.\u00a0 In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-4010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-groups","tag-fundraiser-school"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4010"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57831,"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4010\/revisions\/57831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}