These are the hands of inmates at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women, crafting the water socks that will cover the life-giving Sawyer PointONE filters used by Water Women in poverty-stricken areas all over the world.
And this is what the
finished products look like.
From a Correctional Facility to Every Part of the World: Women Helping Women In Need

Helping others, especially other women, is nothing new for inmates at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Pewee Valley, Kentucky. But now several have embraced a new project: helping Water Women around the world by crocheting colorful covers for their Sawyer PointONE Filters.
 
“We have been getting yarn donations from KCIW volunteers,” said KCIW Chaplain David Webb, who has been in his position for about two years. “I received an email from one volunteer, telling me about Water With Blessings and the need for the water socks. I thought it would be a great thing – women helping women. I spoke with the Warden about it, and she gave it the green light.”
 
“The inmates had been working with other charities, crocheting clothing items for babies, like hats and gloves. Then I would take those to local charities. I took some of the Water With Blessings flyers to the recreation department, who oversees these activities. The manager there got on board and it took off from there.”
 
That was in mid-March of this year, and it certainly has taken off. The women work individually with the donated yarn, some of it coming from donations to Water With Blessings in addition to what is received from other sources.
 
“They’ve been making the water socks for about six weeks,” Chaplain Webb said. “Each morning we get some of the water socks in our chapel. One inmate has made 100 of them already, and the people from Water With Blessings have already picked up more than 100.”
 
Chaplain Webb said he has received positive feedback from the inmates:
 
“One woman in particular was on board immediately and said she really enjoys making these items. She said the program was significant to her because it helps other women and other families to provide an essential need of life – clean water.”
Making It Rain for God's Thirsty Children: An Update on Our Capital Campaign

As we welcome the beautiful blossoms and new green leaves of spring, we continue to give thanks for re-locating our Water With Blessings mission in our new surroundings. Since January, our two-story business condo, with more work and warehouse space, helps support growth for our one-of-a-kind mission. Water With Blessings offers a global reach that benefits vulnerable children and empowers women to lead efforts for safe water in 48 countries.
 
We have been encouraged by our generous supporters who have helped us approach the 70% mark of raising $400,000 to own our HQ outright and to expand our outreach efforts around the world. There is still time for you to join with us in growing our collective efforts to gain additional philanthropic support for owning the building space outright before the conclusion of 2021. Our spring campaign, Make It Rain for God’s Thirsty Children, is focused on filtering more clean water and preventing disease as we equip and empower more women – with the ultimate goal of training 100,000 Water Women each year by 2030.
 
As we continue to Make It Rain for God’s Thirsty Children, we ask you, our key supporters, to consider donating to this special campaign with a gift or monthly pledge. Your wonderful gift can be featured on our big, blue water drop pledge cards that are displayed in our front office windows. It has been gratifying to receive incredible philanthropic support for owning the workspace and increasing outreach to protect God's thirsty children.
 
We can all look for and see God’s light in the midst of the darkness and struggles that have surrounded us since last spring. Just as the gentle spring rains support blooming flowers and trees, your gift makes possible clean water for struggling children to grow and thrive. Giving to our mission translates into better health for those most vulnerable and offers tax benefits whether you choose to give now or make a pledge to be fulfilled by December 31.
 
Thank you for joining with to us to Make It Rain for God’s Thirsty Children.

God’s Blessings to you and your families during this springtime of new beginnings!

Rebecca Stutsman
Chief Development Officer
Water With Blessings
You Can Leave a Legacy of Love, and a Lifetime of Clean Water

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, a time to remember those who gave, in President Lincoln’s words, the “last full measure of devotion” for their fellow citizens.

In a different kind of memorial, Water With Blessings has begun working with the directors of several funeral homes to introduce our Legacy of Love Program. There are many generous people who, even at the end of their lives, prefer helping others. Often you will see the request in their obituaries: In lieu of flowers...

We at Water With Blessings will add another dimension to that memorial gift. The deceased person’s family will receive the names, locations, photos, and number of children of the Water Women who have been have sponsored. They can then share this information with those who have made this important Legacy of Love donation.

We ask all of you in our loyal Community for Mission to spread the word when you have the opportunity. Perhaps it can help shine a ray of hope to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

At Water With Blessings, prayer is the foundation of our work. And you may be sure that our Water Women around the world, and everyone in our Community for Mission, will be praying for those generous souls who remember and care for the poorest of the poor, even at the hour of their deaths.
Meet Veronica, One of Our
Water Women in Zambia
Veronica lives in Kaloko, in the Copper Belt Region of Zambia. She has two children of her own, and is proud to be one of the dozens of Water Women being trained right now by a very well organized team there, led by Fr. Douglas Ogato and Sr. Theresa Konsolo. We will have an update on their work in the coming weeks.

Working together, we can give more mothers like Veronica the chance to give their children clean water, in Zambia, and in impoverished areas all over the world.
On Coffee Chat This Week: We hear from Chaplain David Webb of KCIW
You read about the generous work being done by the incarcerated women at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women. This coming Friday, Chaplain David Webb will join our Coffee Chat to talk more about their efforts, and the enthusiasm and care the inmates have for those in need around the world.

Also, Sr. Larraine will have more details about her trip to the Navajo Nation, which begins this coming Saturday.

So grab your beverage and log in this coming Friday at Noon Eastern Time. As always, we look forward to having you with us!
Please consider joining our team of crafters, and keep sending us your extra yarn...

We are so grateful to our new partners at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women, and to those of you who have been crocheting water socks to cover the Sawyer PointONE Filters for our Water Women around the world.

But we need more: more crafters and more yarn!

From Zambia to the Philippines, and hundreds of places in between, new Water Women are being trained every day. And that means we need more crocheted covers.

If you would like to join the team, please click the button below. And as you can see nearby, we can always use your extra yarn.

Thank you again!
We believe every child should be drinking clean water. Are you with us?
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