Tanzania: The first well from proceeds of Hersha Hotels EarthView programme is to be completed in March 2020 in Unyankumi – a village in the Singida region of Tanzania.
In October 2018, Hersha Hotels and Resorts announced that EarthView, its corporate sustainability programme, will provide support to Waterboys.
Through the sale of EarthView water bottles, which are made from 100 per cent recycled materials, Hersha donates $1 to support Waterboys’ clean water project in East Africa.
Participating Hersha properties include Maryland’s Annapolis Waterfront hotel which sold 4,511 bottles, and Hotel Milo in Santa Barbara, California, which raised $8,338 in donations.
The EarthView programme is enrolled in over 100 hotels across the United States.
Jay H. Shah, Hersha’s CEO, said: “Our EarthView water bottle provides clean, safe water to our guests while at the same time offers life-sustaining water to a community in need. In this way, we can help address the pressing challenges we face as a global society while supporting our company’s goals and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our first well in Tanzania will provide water to 8,000 people who previously lacked any permanent source of clean water.”
Waterboys, a charity that provides underserved rural communities with clean and sustainable water, was launched in 2015 by two-time Super Bowl champion Chris Long. Waterboys is the hallmark initiative of The Chris Long Foundation.
“Our first year of partnership with Hersha has yielded tremendous results for Waterboys and, more importantly, for the community of Unyankumi that will be transformed by the well that has been funded,” said Long. “We pride ourselves on our ability to engage fans and corporations in innovative ways with our mission. EarthView water bottles are another example of how the collective impact of raising awareness in multiple hotels paired with fans making one small action can result in meaningful change for thousands of people.”
To date, Waterboys has raised over $4 million and helped to provide clean drinking water to more than 330,000 people as a result.
