LifeStraw demonstrated the power of consumers to drive social change with its announcement yesterday of a major milestone: one million schoolchildren reached with safe drinking water through its safe water retail program with a commitment that continues to support those children over the next five years. LifeStraw’s program makes safe water a reality for developing communities in Kenya and India thanks to each LifeStraw product sold in retail.
LifeStraw reached this milestone after four short years thanks to its engaged consumers, whose purchases of LifeStraw products directly funded the company’s efforts to provide safe water to schoolchildren. LifeStraw’s safe water retail program is like no other: the program receives its financing from LifeStraw’s consumer purchases, making it entirely self-sustaining, and it doesn’t just donate products or revenues to charity – it distributes LifeStraw Community filters specifically designed for humanitarian use and invests in full-scale programs to drive long-term impact, including full-time local staff, training, education programs and maintenance for a minimum of five years at each school. This commitment to create an enduring effect is a testament to how deeply doing good is embedded in LifeStraw’s DNA.
“Water is a human right and it’s our obligation as a company to be environmentally responsible, stand up for the principles of social equity and to drive impact,” said Alison Hill, managing director of LifeStraw. “We recognize the power of our consumers as a catalyst in driving this change, whether it’s in their own backyards or halfway across the world in Kenya, and we’re proud to help them make tangible, long-term impact.”
During the month of February and into early March, 40 Kenya-based LifeStraw staff members were joined by 78 volunteers to install nearly 3,568 LifeStraw Community water filters and educate more than 370,000 children and teachers at 525 schools in western Kenya.
“Humanitarian entrepreneurship is part of the DNA of Vestergaard and LifeStraw,” said Mikkel Vestergaard, founder and CEO of Vestergaard. “Challenging the status quo and finding disruptive ways to make change on a global scale is what we do best. Reaching one million children is a milestone we can all be proud of, but it is just the first step in what we aim to achieve. Safe drinking water is a global problem that is not going away. We have always been willing to take on the risk of doing things differently in order to be an active part of the solution.” LifeStraw reached a milestone of one million children that have been provided with safe water during their most recent campaign in Kenya.
In addition to its consumer retail program, an extension of LifeStraw’s commitment to doing good is The Safe Water Fund, a 501(c)3 organization run through The New Venture Fund, enabling individuals and organizations to make tax-deductible contributions to help provide safe water through LifeStraw products at schools, in communities and in the aftermath of disasters.
The Safe Water Fund is another example of LifeStraw’s organizational foundation – that doing good is good business – and that everyone has a role to play in improving health and quality of life for others around the world.
Over the next five years, LifeStraw will continue to reach many more millions of children with the help of conscious consumers around the world. LifeStraw will focus on preventing waterborne diseases and responding to natural disasters while launching new innovative, products that will reduce lead and other heavy metals.
It’s easy for consumers to be a part of LifeStraw’s mission and drive social change. To help LifeStraw reach its next million schoolchildren with safe drinking water, consumers may visit www.LifeStraw.com to learn more about its mission and consumer filtration and purification products.
