Waste Source Weekly: Episode 3 — Charity
It’s time to get frank, about Frank Water.
Since Waste Source’s startup, we’ve made lots of friends from different industries across the country. But a particularly notable & worthy relationship we’ve created is with Frank Water. In 2012, we became a ‘FRANK Friend’ as we agreed to donate 1% of our annual profit to this charity, that really makes a splash in safe sanitation.
If you aren’t aware of Frank’s work then listen up, folks! Since 2005, FRANK Water has funded safe drinking water and sanitation for nearly 386,500 people in 442 communities. They have worked all over the globe, from Nepal to Bestival, India to Boston Tea Party. You may have also seen their ‘Drink Me; Saves Lives’ refilling stations in local cafes, restaurants or popup stalls. Basically, their work is pretty awesome & they aren’t finished yet! They aim to provide safe drinking water to the 663 million people worldwide who still lack access to this basic human right.
But why Frank? It all began when Jon, our adventurous, thrill-seeking Director completed a Rickshaw Run 4 years ago across India. He raised all his money for Frank Water and continued to stay in touch. At WS, we wanted this relationship to blossom, as we recognised some Frank(ly) attractive traits of theirs: they are small, Bristol-based & their cause is a good one!
Every year, Frank offer us lots of exciting opportunities & celebrations to get our teeth stuck into. From Summer parties at Bambalan, to Rainbow Brunch Clubs at Barts Ingredients — it’s all go!
They have also become an established stand at most UK festivals and last weekend Aimee (our go-getter Key Account Manager) attended Green Man Festival to help Frank serve refreshing, cold water to fellow festival goers! Aimee, armed with her pop up tent & reflective sunglasses helped out for 3 days & met some amazing people along the way.
Where most people need a few weeks recovery from a festival, Aimee has bounced back & up to her usual habits already — getting up at 5.30am for a Crossfit session. We take our hats off to you, Aimee. I managed to catch up with her this morning, where she told me her highlights included listening to the Dirty Projectors & knowing that there was a refillable bottle of cold, refreshing water waiting for her at the Frank Stand! She was pretty frank about it all…
But, the Frank Fun doesn’t stop there for the year! Andy, our Business Development Manager who started working at Waste Source in January is also stepping up to the fundraising challenge! Following on from his Trans Pennine Challenge success in 2013, where he ran 100k in just under 15 hours, on the 23 Sep 2018 he’ll be running the Bristol Half Marathon & aims to raise £1000 for Frank. If you wish to sponsor Andy then you can do so here.
Keep doing what you’re doing Frank Water — we’ve had a brilliant summer with you so far; it’s a big thank you from team Waste Source!