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- Start of the ride …
With the success of Water Centric’s first ever bike-a-thon last year, enthusiasm was high among the organizers and participants. The bike-a-thon 2011 did more than live up to the expectations!
On a beautiful Saturday morning on July 30, just under 100 enthusiastic participants arrived at the Great Brook Farm in Carlisle, MA geared up to ride, walk or volunteer for Water Centric. The scenic 54 mile “Apple Pi” route, was not for the faint of heart, as it wound its way up and down through the towns of Carlisle, Concord, Littleton and Harvard, MA. The shorter 18 mile ride was closer to the venue and a walk along the beautiful park trails was yet another option.
After a light breakfast of fruit, donuts and munchkins provided by Dunkin Donuts and coffee from Starbucks, the bicyclists headed out on their ride. Rest-
- Registration and Breakfast
stops had been arranged for them to freshen up, stretch and fuel up with water and fruits, some of which was donated by Verrill Farms. The Carlson Orchards in Harvard, MA, one of the designated rest stops, was a gem of a spot with several trees, picnic tables and a cool breeze thoroughly enjoyed by the bicyclists and volunteers alike.
- And then they’re off…
All bicyclists and walkers accomplished their respective challenges and arrived in high spirits at the barn of Great Brook Farm where a barbecue cookout awaited them. Pulled pork and pulled chicken from Redbones, salads from Bertucci’s and veggie burgers were just some of the items on the lunch menu. A raffle of items from ATA cycles, Bikeway Source , Belmont Wheelworks and Dunkin Donuts added to the day’s fun and activities. During lunch, the event further spread awareness about the lack of clean water and sanitation in the developing world by projecting a video about Water Centric’s activities addressing the situation.
- Some of our smiling volunteers
We are grateful to all of you for your participation in supporting this important cause and we hope that you will continue to support us in our endeavors. We look forward to seeing you at our next annual Bike-a-thon!
Water Centric is coming close to completing work in its initial ten schools, steadily delivering water, sanitation, and hygiene education to more and more school children in need. To take a look at our latest accomplishments…
Spectacular summer weather including perfect temperatures welcomed the nearly 100 people who arrived at Great Brook Farm in Carlisle, MA on July 31 to participate in Water Centric’s first ever bike-a-thon.
Bicyclists arrived with every level of experience and conditioning. The beautiful 52 mile “Apple Pi” ride was the route that 32 of the experienced cyclists rode through the scenic country roads of Carlisle, Concord, Littleton, and Harvard, MA. Others opted for the shorter 18 mile ride, while still others enjoyed walking the beautiful park trails. One young woman who had never ridden a bike on the road before, actually rode the entire 18 mile ride – to cheers by all!
The activities culminated with a barbecue lunch at noon. Pulled pork and pulled chicken from Redbones, pasta salad from Bertucci’s, apples, cookies, and drinks from Whole Foods, and hot and iced coffee from Starbucks, were just some of the options at the cookout, which was then topped off with a raffle of items donated by Bikeway Source, Pietzo, Peet’s Coffee, Shaw’s, Verrill Farm, and Citizen’s Bank.We would also like to thank Cambridge Trust bank whose donation supplied us with snacks for the rest stops.
It was a great time and we wish to thank everyone who rode, hiked, volunteered, sponsored, and supported this important cause! Also, please send along your photos from the day’s activities. We would like to include them in our First Annual Bike-A-Thon Album!
If you have not already registered for Water Centric’s “Bike-A-Thon and Cookout” here are several more reasons to do so. Water Centric is pleased to announce that it will be raffling off several valuable items that were generously donated by its sponsors. You need to be there at the Bike-a-thon for a chance to win one of these fabulous gifts worth $$s.
Here are some of the wonderful raffle prizes
A bike repair kit valued at $80 from The Bikeway Source of Bedford
Two Bicycle Helmets from Pietzo Electric Bikes
Citizens Bank
From Citizens Bank:
- 14 Tickets to the Aquarium valued at $18 each
- 4 Tickets to the Museum of Science
- 4 Tickets to the Museum of Fine Arts
- 4 Tickets to the Boston Children’s Museum
A 1 lb bag of coffee From Peet's Coffee and Tea
A $25 gift certificate from Shaw’s Supermarket
A $25 gift certificate from Verrill Farm
We have been making steady progress at Water Centric with just over 2 years under our belt! Here is a look at what we have accomplished in the past few months…
Don’t forget to right click to print and carry!
Hey Boston area residents -
This May Day, Saturday, May 1, 2010, eat at Uno Chicago Grill in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and you will provide direct aid to over 1000 school girls who need clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education in their slum school in Delhi, India.
Here’s how it works:
- Print out the tickets above and give them to your friends/family/anyone.
- On May 1st, when anyone eats lunch, dinner, drinks @ bar,or does take-out and presents the ticket (during bill payment), WaterCentric will be given up to 20% of the sale amount.
Uno’s is at 22 JFK Street in Harvard Square in Cambridge.
Water Centric’s goal is to raise $6000 to improve the lives of over 1000 schoolgirls studying in a municipal school in Sri Niwas Puri area by renovating and building functional toilets and water stations in their school plus training the teachers and kids to participate in maintaining these new facilities via active student-run hygiene education clubs.
Enjoy your pizza – a tasty way to raise dough.
A thousand little girls will thank you!
Diwali, also known as “Festival of Lights,” is a time of celebration and thanksgiving in India, for victory of good over evil. This year, in honor of Diwali, on November 5 2010, Water Centric is hosting a six-month Twitter Diwali campaign – “Twiwali” - so that people can express their gratitude for the essentials of clean water and sanitation - while helping others to have the same - by making a simple donation and creating awareness through social sites like Twitter. What follows is one Water Centric volunteer’s account of why he is grateful for toilets. We encourage you to submit your stories on why you are grateful for toilets to our blog as well
A surreal bathroom experience!
By Bhaskar Koukuntla
On a cold November evening, my wife and I decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary by having dinner with a few of our family friends at the Mantra restaurant in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Mantra is very close to our respective work places and is conveniently nestled on a side street between the Theatre district and Downtown Crossing. We had heard a lot about this place as the only restaurant in Boston serving Indo-French cuisine, and that it is located in a building that was previously a bank constructed in the 1800’s. Their décor is unique and in fact their bar is a former “Teller’s cage.” Details of the décor include marble walls and floors, silk drapery, and exotic mirrors with beautiful lighting.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, I paid a visit to the Men’s Room. It was stunningly beautiful with elegant mirrors, very clean and exotic sinks, and elegant glass stalls. The doors to the individual stalls were made of what looked like translucent glass and looked beautiful. Once I stepped in, I was shocked that I could see the outside! My friend was at the sink washing his hands and he suddenly turned around, looked towards my stall and pointed his finger towards me and started laughing. I was shocked!!! I felt embarrassed and wondered how the restaurant could have not thought about this. I suddenly felt very vulnerable and awkward for such lack of privacy.
When I emerged, pretending that I had not noticed anything, my friend explained that you cannot look in from the outside, however the user can see out from inside the stall. This was trick décor with no compromise to privacy at all!! But just the illusion that my privacy was compromised had made me sick to my stomach.
Putting this surreal bathroom experience in perspective, millions of underprivileged families and kids around the world do not have access to the most basic sanitation facilities. They sit outdoors every day exposed to prying eyes and the elements! Water Centric is currently working towards constructing functional toilets for a school for 1433 girls in India. With a small contribution from all of us who are privileged and take such necessities for granted, we can make a change in the lives of all these kids! So this Diwali, spread some light by making a contribution at www.watercentric.org/Twiwali.html
Greetings! We just finished working on an introductory video that will tell you a little more about our 10 school initiative in Delhi. Let us know your thoughts.
The theme for the evening was water and sanitation – or more precisely the lack of water and functional toilets in millions of children’s lives. The event was titled “Turning Social Chatter into Water.” On October 27, Boston’s Tantric India Bistro was a lively venue where people wanting to help the world’s most needy children, chatted, sampled Indian hors d’oeuvres, and heard the compelling story of Water Centric’s work in Delhi, India.
A selection of short videos were shown showing children washing hands and lunch dishes in a decrepit water station; little boys and girls packed like sardines in a tiny classroom, without a single chair, desk, or sink and in some cases without any functional toilets; young school girls wearing colorful scarves, singing about washing their hands!
CEO and Founder, Lotika Paintal, shared firsthand accounts from the world’s most needy children, and answered questions about what Water Centric is doing to help them. Clean water, functional toilets and hygiene education are critical to stopping the cycle of poverty. Find out how you, too, can be part of solving this critical world challenge by hosting a Water Centric reception and presentation. Visit www.watercentric.org to find out more.
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