Member Article

Washington water company raises £136,000 for charity

A water cooling company in Washington is celebrating after raising more than £136,000 for good causes.

Husband and wife Gordon and Emir Dobson run an Aquaid franchise, and donate a percentage of each sale to help provide fresh water to people in third world countries. They aimed to raise £130,000 over ten years, but when they came to do their annual audits they were delighted to discover that they had smashed their target in just 9.

Managing director Gordon Dobson said: “We had hoped to break our target of £130,000 this year but our latest audited accounts have just revealed that with the help of our customers we have actually donated £136,873.

“This is fantastic news and it just goes to show that water coolers can help to save lives.”

As well as raising money for the Pump Aid and Christian Aid charities, the firm also supplies water to the Sunderland Street Pastors who patrol the city centre at weekends to assist those in need.

He added: “The money raised is used to buy water pumps, which can literally mean the difference between life and death – it’s estimated that a staggering 4,000 children die every day as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.

“All the team at AquAid are proud of this achievement and would like to thank all our customers who have helped us hit yet another impressive charity target.”

This money will go towards the total sum raised by the national Aquaid network, which has raised around £2 million for good causes.

Loretta Minghella, Director of Christian Aid, said: “I was delighted to learn that Aquaid Tyne & Wear had reached the fantastic figure of £136,000 after nine years of raising money for water projects run by Pump Aid and Christian Aid.

“Aquaid’s donations have enabled people in some of the world’s poorest communities to grow more food, access cleaner drinking water and build better sanitation systems.

“This work has improved the health and quality of life for thousands of people living in developing countries.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .