Hershey High School’s yearly Walk for Clean Water event generated $22,081.92 on Sunday afternoon, uniting students and residents in support of worldwide efforts to provide clean water despite fewer walkers.
Organized by the school’s Key Club, the event featured a 3.75-mile walk around Hershey’s three schools, representing the distance many people around the world must travel each day just to access clean water. Participants gathered throughout the afternoon to walk, enter various raffles, and eat at food trucks funded by the club.
The $22,081 is enough to fully fund two wells. Funds raised from the walk are managed by Thirst Project, a nonprofit organization that works to end the global water crisis. The organization oversees donations and directs the funding towards building clean water wells in developing countries. All of Hershey’s donations go to building wells in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Connor Moodie, a student leader helping run the event, acknowledged the turnout while speaking on the overall success of the fundraiser. “Despite having fewer people at the walk itself, we were still able to raise a great deal of money, and more importantly, spread awareness,” Moodie said.
The walk has become a staple in the Hershey community, and especially in Key Club, over the past 11 years. The high school’s club actually started the movement, and as a community, Hershey has raised more money than any other district.
Denise Dhawan, a local participating in the walk, spoke about the event. “It’s very well organized, despite the lack of turnout. I really value the message that we are sending,” she said.
Key Club members were cheering every half mile. Additionally, there were three crews on the day: the setup, the walk helpers, and the cleanup. The event itself lasted only about two hours, but some members were on shifts for over five hours for the whole thing.
