In order to provide people in Central America with clean drinking water, the Hands 4 Others club held the second annual Walk4Water fundraiser last Saturday.
The walk raised just over $3,000, which matched last year’s donations and will be added to the other funds recently donated to H4O chapters in Denver and Santa Barbara, who also raised $2,300 and $24,000 respectively.
This year’s donations will be going towards water purifiers that will be installed in several villages in Honduras. Hands 4 Others has partnered with Water Missions International, a company that supplies the water systems that are later installed by students involved with H4O.
Lauren Hutchinson, the president of Redwood’s Hands 4 Others club, will be traveling to Honduras this Summer with about 20 other H4O members to install the water systems.
After Honduras, Indonesia will be the next site for installing water systems, according to Hutchinson.

The Walk4Water began at the Marina Green in San Francisco on May 11 and continued through the Presidio before returning to Crissy Field.  Although the walk was short, only about a mile, the focus of the event was to raise awareness and gather support, Hutchinson said.
Club members and supporters gathered around a stand at which people could buy t-shirts and sweatshirts or simply donate to the cause.  All the money raised at the event through sponsors, donations, and merchandise sales goes directly towards buying and installing water systems in lesser developed countries.
The water systems take water from the original source and pump it through filters to purify it before moving it to a storage tank where clean water is accessible and free.
“The water these people are drinking is giving them diseases, and by purifying their water supply we are making it a healthier community that doesn’t have to spend so much time and energy on finding clean water,” Hutchinson said.
The majority of the money raised for the walk was through FirstGiving, a website that helps promote fundraising for non-profit organizations like H4O.
The H4O club also raises money through bake sales and cars washes, and hopes to hold a gala for people interested in supporting the cause.
About 20 students came to participate in the recent walk, about half of whom were Redwood students.  Three of those participants will be going to Honduras this summer to install water systems.
Many of the other volunteers attend Saint Ignatius in San Francisco, which has an H4O club that is part of the same chapter as Redwood’s club.  Students from Marin Academy and Drake were also present.
Although there are only three chapters currently, Redwood alumna Hannah Daffern plans to open a fourth chapter at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she attends school.
The club also supplied merchandise to members who received significant donations.
People who raised over $100 received a free shirt, people who raised over $500 got a shirt and a sweatshirt, and anyone who raised over $1250 would have received a fully-funded trip to Honduras to help install the water systems, according to Hutchinson.