Water is one of those things we all take for granted. You turn on your tap, and out it comes – pure, clean water. In 2007, the Tap Project** was born, and it was based on a simple premise. Restaurants ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free. All the funds raised would support UNICEF’s** efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world.

World Water Week is March 22-28, 2009, and the Tap Project will raise vital donations and awareness for UNICEF’s water and sanitation programs. For every dollar raised, a child will have clean drinking water for 40 days. All funds raised support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world. Find Tap In Your City**

Here In New Orleans

We know a thing or two about water here in New Orleans. Water nourishes us, and has the capacity to destroy us if but temporarily. After Katrina, we received a tremendous amount of love and support from all around the world, and projects like this give us a unique opportunity to give back.

We’ve got a lot of water and a lot of levees keeping that water at bay, but New Orleans is known for something else. Its food. We’ve got a lot of restaurants, which means we’ve got a lot of chances to participate in the Tap Project.

Water is still a scary thing here in New Orleans, but for those in areas of the world that have undrinkable water, they carry a similar fear, but it is for a different reason – for them drinking unclean water is the leading cause of death of their young children. This is an opportunity for us to make sure that water is life-giving, not life-taking.

UNICEF has made it really easy for restaurants to participate, by simply signing up online at www.tapproject.org/restaurants/participate.html.** UNICEF provides bill inserts (that explain the program to customers), buttons for wait staff to wear, and a removable window sticker to identify a restaurant as a Tap Project participant.

UNICEF’s Role

UNICEF has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, and UNICEF is committed to doing whatever it takes to achieve the goal of reaching zero preventable deaths. Currently, UNICEF provides access to safe water and sanitation facilities while promoting safe hygiene practices in more than 90 countries. By 2015, UNICEF’s goal is to reduce the number of people without safe water and basic sanitation by 50 percent.

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