Opelika children are helping people in Malawi have clean water with H2Opelika project
BY OBSERVER STAFF
OPELIKA — Children across Opelika are working together this summer to help provide safe drinking water to children and families in Malawi through a citywide fundraising effort called H2Opelika.
The campaign encourages children to operate lemonade stands in their yards, neighborhoods, churches and other locations through Aug. 31. Money raised will support Water Mission, an international Christian nonprofit organization that provides safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services while sharing the message of Jesus Christ.
Every $50 donated through the campaign can provide safe drinking water for one person.
Founder Betsy Ledoux said she hopes the project will give Opelika children a simple and meaningful way to spend part of their summer serving others.
“We’re excited about the kids of Opelika working together to save lives,” Ledoux said. “We hope families will join us by spending part of the summer turning lemonade into water and helping share Jesus, the Living Water, with the people of Malawi.”
Children may establish lemonade stands at any time and location through the end of August. After a stand concludes, parents may deposit the proceeds through the H2Opelika online donation link, which sends contributions directly to an account with Water Mission.
Participants are also encouraged to post information and photographs from their lemonade stands on social media using #H2Opelika. Organizers will use the hashtag to track participating stands, promote upcoming events and share the campaign’s results with Water Mission.
Individual children and families are expected to host stands throughout the summer. Several churches, neighborhoods and community organizations are also planning larger events, including Trinity Church on Second Avenue, Cub Scout Pack 858 and the Collinwood neighborhood.
Organizers said they anticipate additional stands will be announced as the summer progresses and encouraged residents to follow #H2Opelika on social media for updates.
The long-term goal is for H2Opelika to become an annual summer tradition.
“We would love to see H2Opelika become an annual event so that part of being an Opelika kid is spending part of the summer working with other local children to help save lives in Africa,” Ledoux said.
Scheduled public
lemonade stands
- Monday, July 6, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. — H2Opelika Lemonade Crawl in the Collinwood neighborhood
- Tuesday, July 7 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. — Trinity Church at 800 2nd Ave.
- Tuesday, July 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. — Cub Scout Pack 858 lemonade stand near Monkey Park during Summer Swing. Visitors should look for directional signs near the park.
To donate directly, visit www.give.watermission.org/c/opelika-kids-save-lives-h2opelikas-fundraiser-for-water-mission.
