The
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
Tap Project was a nationwide campaign that provides children in impoverished nations with access to safe, clean water. The campaign culminated during
World Water Week, celebrating the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
’
World Water Day
World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on 22 March that highlights the importance of fresh water. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme of each year focuses o ...
, March 22.
This campaign involved restaurants, dining patrons, students, and volunteers along with corporate, community, celebrity, and government supporters. During World Water Week restaurants across the United States encouraged patrons to donate $1 or more for the
tap water
Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
they usually enjoy for free. In tandem, UNICEF Tap Project volunteers support their efforts by conducting local fundraising events and activities.
Today, nearly 990 million people worldwide are without access to safe and clean drinking water. Meanwhile, every day 4,100 children die from water related diseases. The UNICEF Tap Project helps support UNICEF’s work towards the
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenn ...
–
Goal 7 – which is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic
sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
.
The project was retired by UNICEF USA in March 2016.
History
The UNICEF Tap Project was created in 2007 by a New York City based advertising/communications agency called
Droga5
Droga5 is a global advertising agency headquartered in New York City with offices in London and Tokyo.
History
David Droga founded Droga5 in New York City in 2006. Droga said that he named the agency after the tag his mother used to sew into hi ...
and launched on March 22, 2007 –
World Water Day
World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on 22 March that highlights the importance of fresh water. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme of each year focuses o ...
. The concept was to encourage patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free. The funds would go towards providing impoverished children with clean drinking water; with $1, UNICEF can provide a child with access to clean, safe water for 40 days. That first year the campaign was only on World Water Day, since then it has centered on World Water Week.
The first Tap Project that took place in New York City had the support of thousands of patrons at over three hundred restaurants, which helped to raise about $100,000 in funds.
Since 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project has raised nearly $2.5 million for water and sanitation programs for children.
Destination of funds
The UNICEF Tap Project funds raised throughout the campaign go towards different UNICEF programs that include water, hygiene and sanitation programs. Money raised through the Tap Project has helped children, to have access to clean water, in countries like
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
,
Guatemala, the
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
,
Ivory Coast,
Haiti,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. Some of these programs, that aim to improve children's lives, include:
drilling of wells, the installation of water pumps, building latrines in impoverished communities, and classes that teach lifesaving hygiene to school children and their families. The Tap Project campaign also includes programs that support
rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir ...
and affordable
water filter
A water filter removes impurities by lowering contamination of water using a fine physical barrier, a chemical process, or a biological process. Filters cleanse water to different extents, for purposes such as: providing agricultural irrigation ...
s.
National sponsors
Since 2007, UNICEF Tap Project has had various sponsors that have collaborated to the campaign. In 2010,
Giorgio Armani created the campaign “Acqua for Life”. This campaign incorporated the use of his fragrance “Acqua di Giò” for men, through which he raised awareness and funds towards the Tap Project. In 2011, Armani expanded his campaign by adding the women's fragrance called “Acqua di Gioia”. Giorgio Armani donates $1 for every purchased bottle of these two fragrances, during the month of March. The campaign takes into account bottles purchased within the 50 U.S. states,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
and
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
has participated in the Tap Project campaign for four consecutive years. This organization sponsors UNICEF Tap Project Volunteer Program by providing funds to aid in the recruitment and training of volunteers, resources and free advertisement to raise awareness for the Tap Project campaign.
Droga5
Droga5 is a global advertising agency headquartered in New York City with offices in London and Tokyo.
History
David Droga founded Droga5 in New York City in 2006. Droga said that he named the agency after the tag his mother used to sew into hi ...
is an advertising agency created in 2006 and partnered with the UNICEF in 2007 to aid with the Tap Project campaign. Droga5 creates promotional material that supports the initiative, by promoting the project in various media prior and during World Water Week, which brings awareness about the UNICEF Tap Project’s efforts to help with the
water crisis
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is wher ...
around the world.
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
joined the UNICEF’s efforts towards providing clean and safe water to children around the world through the Tap Project in 2009. The company created a campaign called GivingWorks, in which eBay gives its customers and sellers the opportunity to donate a percentage of their profit made through eBay. People can also donate money when checking out products or shop listings that support the cause.
The UNICEF Tap Project also relies on the promotional help of different providers like
MediaVest USA,
American Express,
Zagat Survey
The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, coverin ...
,
OpenTable
OpenTable is an online restaurant-reservation service company founded by Sid Gorham, Eric Moe and Chuck Templeton on 2 July 1998 and is based in San Francisco, California.
In 1998, operations began with a limited selection of restaurants in ...
,
SeamlessWeb and
Yelp, Inc.
Yelp Inc. is an American company that develops the Yelp.com website and the Yelp mobile app, which publish crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. It also operates Yelp Guest Manager, a table reservation service. It is headquartered in San F ...
These companies provide free advertising and media exposure to the campaign.
Celebrity Tap
In order to increase its funds towards the Tap Project, in 2011, UNICEF created Celebrity Tap, which consisted of packing water from the faucets of celebrities’ homes into fancy bottles. For every $5 donated through the Tap Project website, participants were entered for a chance to win a case of the luxury celebrity tap water.
The money raised from Celebrity Tap was used to provide children with clean and safe water around the world. Some of the celebrities participating in this project were
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...
,
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
,
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
,
Dwight Howard
Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. He is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team ...
,
Rihanna and
Adrian Grenier
Adrian Sean Grenier (born July 10, 1976) is an American actor, producer, director and musician. He is best known for his portrayal of Vincent Chase in the television series ''Entourage'' (2004–2011). He has appeared in films such as ''Drive Me ...
. Aside from providing water from their own home, celebrities that participated in this project volunteered their time for commercials and advertising campaigns to promote the UNICEF Tap Project.
UNICEF Tap Project 2014
In 2014, UNICEF launched a new campaign challenging users to go without something far less vital than clean water—their cell phones. By going to the Tap Project website on their smartphones, users were challenged to not touch their phone for as long as they could. For every 15 minutes they went, UNICEF's sponsors donated the monetary equivalent of one day of water to help children in need.
The project garnered over 2.6 million users that spent on average over an hour on the site, raising $1.6 million from a grand total of over 250 million minutes gone without phones.
Achievements
Awards
Since its implementation in 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project has gained public recognition by various organizations, which have granted the project prizes and awards. In June 2007, the Tap project won the Titanium Lion, at the
Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in France, for creative innovation.
In 2008, the Tap Project was awarded with the distinction of Gold by
The Advertising Club of New York
The Advertising Club of New York, also known as The Ad Club and originally called the Sphinx Club, is an advertising industry group promoting self-regulation, professional training and good fellowship. The Advertising Club of New York is the only ...
’s International ANDY Awards, for Public Service and with Silver for Integrated Branding.(Gold / 2008 Richard T. O. Reilly) for Public Service
Also, in the same year Jay Aldous, who is the former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, was co-recipient of the inaugural Non-profit Marketer of the Year award from the
American Marketing Association and the American Marketing Association Foundation.
Notable media
* ''
Top Chef Masters
''Top Chef Masters'' is an American reality competition series that aired on the cable television network Bravo, and premiered June 10, 2009. It is a spinoff of Bravo's hit show ''Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition te ...
'' –
Marcus Samuelsson
25 January 1971) is an Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef, restaurateur and television personality. He is the head chef of Red Rooster in Harlem, New York.
Early life and education
Kassahun Joar Tsegie was born in Ethiopia. His fa ...
won, with the UNICEF Tap Project as his benefiting charity
* ''
Dr. Phil''
* ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...
''
* ''
The Rachael Ray Show
''The Rachael Ray Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006 and also airs in other countries. It is taped at Chelsea Television Studios in Ne ...
''
* ''
The Martha Stewart Show
''Martha'', also known as ''The Martha Stewart Show'', is an American cooking show hosted by Martha Stewart. The series premiered on September 12, 2005, in syndication until it was picked up by the Hallmark Channel in September 2010 as part of a l ...
''
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
"Tap Project" Homepage. 17 February 2009*
ttp://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=1968&L=0target%252525253D_blank%25252522%25252520o "World Water Council." 16 March 2009
UNICEF
Water-related charities