Raising awareness to address an issue that impacts billions of people around the world. Southwire’s Project GIFT recently partnered with Water Mission to host a Walk for Water event, collecting $38,520 in donations.

According to the Water Mission website, 2.2 billion people around the world lack access to safe water, and the non-profit organization — founded in 2001 — strives to end the global water crisis by bringing clean, fresh water to those in less fortunate circumstances.

Southwire facilities in Carrollton, Ga.; Bremen, Ind.; Denton, Texas; Fontana, Calif.; York, Penn.; Canada and Honduras are participating in walks in their communities as part of a large signature effort across the company to get involved with Water Mission. Among the participating locations, Bremen raised the most funds for the organization, collecting nearly $1,000, and the Honduras event featured more than 90 participants – a great turnout for their first year.

“For the Honduras team, this event was very important for us to participate in since our country benefits greatly from Water Mission and because so many of our team members are always looking for opportunities to make an impact on their communities,” said Ana Henriquez, people and culture manager. “At the end of our walk, all of the team members who had participated were proud to have completed the event and were fulfilled to know that they were able to be a part of something that raises awareness for a cause so meaningful to others around the world.”

During the event, participants walked a course that is designed to represent the daily route that many people around the world take to get water each day. The water collected by participants was recycled for use in Southwire’s manufacturing processes.

"The Walk for Water event is an incredible portrayal of the challenges that billions of people around the world face," said Wil Rainey, giving back specialist. “It's been amazing to see how much this event has grown in our community over the past year, and I look forward to seeing its continued growth in the years to come."

Project GIFT's Walk for Water was made possible thanks to the generosity of many community sponsors including the University of West Georgia, Times-Georgian, Servpro, New Leaf Marketing, Gradick Communications, Phoenix Wood Products, Heart Wood Products, Tisinger Vance, 3:16 Healthcare and Associated Credit Union.

For more Southwire news, visit www.southwire.com/newsroom. To learn more about Southwire’s commitment to Giving Back, visit www.southwire.com/sustainability.