Caring Causes: Running for Water

Steve Spear, 49, has run the equivalent of a marathon a day since April 8, and will log over 3,000 miles to raise money to provide clean water for a Kenyan village of 30,000 people. Putting faith into action, Spear’s Running for Water campaign aims to raise funds and awareness for the countless people in Africa who live – and die – every day without clean water. 900 million people lack access to safe water, which kills 6,000 children each day and leads to a loss of 443 million school days per year for kids. Spear's campaign wants to make a difference for some of those people.

‘Running for Water’ is the brainchild of Spear, a former pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, IL. Spear was so moved by the plight of children without access to clean water that he decided to partner with Team World Vision, which equips individuals with the training and fundraising resources they need to utilize participation in major athletic events as a means of spreading awareness and raising money for clean water projects in Africa. Since its inception in 2005, Team World Vision has trained thousands of runners, cyclists, and triathletes, and has raised over five million dollars for clean water. One of those runners is Steve Spear – a man who, in fact, hated running until he ran with Team World Vision in 2007.

For donations: Teamworldvision.org/runningforwater, or text “water” to 30644

Follow Spear’s run on Twitter (@SteveSpear30), YouTube , and Facebook, or meet him on the road to run part of his journey. Rough run map available at  http://billaphoto.com/runcoasttocoast/.

About Steve Spear’s Team:
Spear’s run is made possible with the help of Team World Vision and volunteer coordinators, nutritionists, trainers, athletes and medical professionals. The following in-kind sponsors have also made generous contributions to the Running for Water initiative: Asics, Genesis Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, PowerBar, Nutrilite, UR, Dick Pond Athletics, Accelerated Rehabilitation & Physical Therapy and Olive Garden.

About Team World Vision:
Team World Vision empowers groups and individuals to dedicate their sports and fitness goals to helping World Vision’s work in Africa. Participants select the activity of their choice, and then register online at www.teamworldvision.org, where they access instructions for designing a fundraising web page, get tips and templates for fundraising, and get information about how the funds will be used. Next, they email their fundraising page link to friends, family, and colleagues, inviting them to make a donation. Donations are securely transacted online, and participants can view a list of their supporters and their messages, as well as their fundraising totals.

About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. For more information on their efforts, please visit WorldVision.org/press or follow us on Twitter at @WorldVisionNews.