Together, our Carry5 community raised $42,372.50 (and counting) to bring water home.
That means 283 people now have water at home, a toilet, and a place to bathe — because of you.
And because these systems are built to last and managed by communities, that impact will continue for generations.
🏆 A few highlights:
Seattle Academy — Golden Jerry Can (defending champs) 🏆
Lincoln High — Golden High Top (also defending champs) 👟
Milly S — $13,000+ raised (!!) 💧
Mustafa S — most donors 🙌
Steve & Karsten — the only two to complete the full Water Quest 💪💧
💧 Fundraising pages are still open — there’s still time to be part of it.
Date: Sunday, March 22, 2026
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 pm PDT
Location: Seattle Center – Fisher Pavilion
Registration
$15 per person
Children 5 & under free
Distance: Flexible loop with interactive stations
All ages welcome
Participants can walk at their own pace. Families, students, and teams are encouraged to join.
Walk together. Raise more. Change more.
Start a team and set a shared goal.
Create a fundraising page and invite your community to support your steps.
$150 changes one life.
How many can your team change?
Carry5 is a hands-on walk designed to help you understand what daily water really takes.
The World Health Organization estimates that one person needs about 13 gallons (50 liters) of water each day to meet basic health standards.
Along the route, you’ll stop at stations representing drinking, cooking, hygiene, toilets, and cleaning. At each stop, you’ll symbolically collect water — and carry it with you.
As the weight builds, so does perspective.
The experience takes about an hour. And much like the real world, there may be disruptions along the way.
Around the world, women and girls walk miles every day to collect water. The time and physical burden limit education, income, health, and opportunity.
At Carry5, we walk in solidarity — and to raise funds that bring running water and toilets directly to households.
Because daily life should not begin with a search for water.
Because we believe in a world where water is home.
Funds raised through Carry5 support Water1st’s work to bring piped water and toilets directly to households in communities where women and girls currently walk daily for water.
But the impact isn’t only financial.
When we visit partner communities, we tell them about Carry5 — that people in Seattle walk and carry water in solidarity to help bring water home. Again and again, we hear the same response: they feel seen.
They know the burden. They know the weight. And it matters to them that others are willing to feel it, even for an hour.
This isn’t about pretending to understand someone else’s life.
It’s about honoring it.
Because ending the walk for water starts with recognizing it.
Every $150 raised brings water, a toilet, and a place to bathe to one person.
That’s the impact of your steps.
May 30, 2025: In a time when the world feels heavy, you chose to take action—to show up for women and girls around the world, for our youth advocates, and for each other.
This year’s Carry5 Walk had a twist: an immersive water quest event that highlighted the daily struggles women and girls face to find enough water for their families. And we have plans to make the 2026 event even more immersive so stay tuned!
Our youth set an ambitious goal, and we’re going to keep going until we reach it.
If you walked, donated, rallied your team, or cheered from afar—thank you.
And if you haven’t had a chance to give yet, it’s not too late.
We’re still reaching for the finish line, and every drop, every dollar, brings us closer.
This year’s Carry5 Walk has a twist:
Experience an immersive event that highlights the daily struggles women and girls face to find enough water for their families.
Don’t just learn about the global water crisis—step into it.
Bring your friends, families, team members, choir group, chess team, band, dog walking buddies. Bring everyone!
Let’s walk and learn and support solutions together.
Pro tip on parking: you can park for free in some Amazon garages and take the monorail to Seattle Center.
Community type: Dense urban neighborhood
Estimated population served: Multiple households per property (3–10 families per building)
Water system type: Household piped water connections and toilets
Local partner organization: DSK
About the community
Shakta is located in Keraniganj, one of the most densely populated urban areas near Dhaka. Families live in compact housing where multiple households often share limited water and sanitation facilities.
Water access challenge
Rapid urban growth means infrastructure struggles to keep up. Many households rely on shared or unsafe water sources, and sanitation facilities are often inadequate for the number of people living in each building.
The water solution
Property owners take small loans to install piped water systems and hygienic toilets that serve multiple families living on the property. Some property owners also extend water service to neighboring households.
Why it matters
When water and sanitation are available at home, families experience improved health, greater privacy and dignity, and a safer living environment in crowded urban settings.
Community type: Rural mountain community
Estimated population served: Approximately 45 households
Water system type: Drilled well with pumped distribution system
Local partner organization: COCEPRADIL
About the community
Plan Carrizal is a rural community where families depend on agriculture and local livelihoods. Access to safe water has long been a challenge due to geography and limited infrastructure.
Water access challenge
Without reliable water systems, families must travel long distances to collect water for drinking, cooking, and hygiene.
The water solution
A new drilled well and pumped water system is being designed to bring piped water directly to households. The system will provide reliable water access for daily needs including drinking, cooking, handwashing, bathing, and sanitation.
Why it matters
When water comes home, families gain time for school, work, and rest. Reliable water systems improve health, reduce physical burden, and support stronger rural communities.
Community type: Rural community
Estimated population served: More than 200 households
Water system type: Spring protection and piped distribution
Local partner organization: CABDA
About the community
Eshirumba is part of a growing network of communities served by the Emukoye spring water system.
Water access challenge
Across rural western Kenya, women and girls often spend hours each day collecting water from distant or unreliable sources.
The water solution
The Eshirumba extension expands an existing spring protection and piped water system to reach hundreds of additional households.
Why it matters
Extending water systems reduces the daily time and physical burden of collecting water, allowing women and girls more time for school, work, and family life.
About the community
Kalindi is located near the Nyatigo water system and represents the next phase of expanding reliable water access to surrounding communities.
Water access challenge
Before water systems reach rural communities, families often rely on long walks to collect water. Girls frequently miss school to help their families gather enough water each day.
The water solution
Kalindi will connect to the existing Nyatigo water system, expanding water supply to households that previously lived beyond the reach of the original system while strengthening reliability for neighboring communities.
Why it matters
Expanding integrated water systems allows safe water to reach more families while supporting education, health, and long-term community development.
Community type: Rapidly developing peri-urban settlement
Estimated population served: Approximately 4,400 people
Current access: About 1,400 people have reliable water access
Local partner organization: DSK
About the community
Bibirhat sits on the growing outskirts of Chattogram, where new residents arrive regularly in search of work and opportunity. As the community grows, water and sanitation infrastructure often lag behind development.
Water access challenge
Many families rely on unsafe or unreliable water sources, and knowledge of hygienic sanitation systems is limited. Expanding access requires both infrastructure and education.
The water solution
Local women volunteers organize community-based efforts to promote safe water systems, hygienic toilets, and good hygiene practices. In the next year, the community aims to increase the number of residents with reliable water access by at least 10 percent.
Why it matters
Combining water infrastructure with hygiene education helps communities build healthier habits and sustainable systems that benefit thousands of people.
Community type: Rural community with long-term water system
Years of operation: 11+ years
Current access: Spring-fed gravity system with household connections
Local partner organization: COCEPRADIL
About the community
Las Cañadas is a community where local leaders have successfully managed their water system for more than a decade.
Water access challenge
Before the system was built, families spent hours collecting water from distant sources.
The water solution
Today the community manages a gravity-fed water system with household connections. Residents meter water use, collect tariffs to maintain the system, and protect surrounding watershed lands to ensure long-term water supply.
Why it matters
Las Cañadas demonstrates how community-managed water systems can operate successfully for generations when local leadership and financial sustainability are in place.
Note: Givebutter is our new, free donation platform. To opt of of the tip, click on the optional 15% tip (located in yellow box above the area where you select payment method) and select “other” to adjust the tipping amount to zero.
As we walk in solidarity for clean water, DJ Jyoti B.Fly brings the global soundtrack of connection, culture, and change
Residents living in informal settlements in Chattogram have no legal access to public water supply or sewer systems. They forced to buy water of unknown quality at very expensive rates or wait in long lines at shared communal water stations. There are also no sewer pipes in these neighborhoods, so waste from ‘open’ toilets flows right through the community, making living conditions extremely unhygienic, and sanitary toilets a high priority.
By supporting this project, you will help:
We have a $185,000 goal to provide piped water + a toilet for households in Chattogram, Bangaldesh.
Create your own fundraiser for this project, support a walk participant or donate.
Thank you for your generous support of Water1st. And special thanks to our youth board members who are leading this event and fundraising effort. We are honored to be working alongside so many compassionate and motivated advocates.
Residents living in informal settlements in Chattogram have no legal access to public water supply or sewer systems. They forced to buy water of unknown quality at very expensive rates or wait in long lines at shared communal water stations. There are also no sewer pipes in these neighborhoods, so waste from ‘open’ toilets flows right through the community, making living conditions extremely unhygienic, and sanitary toilets a high priority.
By supporting this project, you will help:
We have a $185,000 goal to provide piped water + a toilet for households in Chattogram, Bangaldesh.
Create your own fundraiser for this project, support a walk participant or donate.
Thank you for your generous support of Water1st. And special thanks to our youth board members who are leading this event and fundraising effort. We are honored to be working alongside so many compassionate and motivated advocates.
For our Seattle Center Fountain participants, at a minimum we will follow city and county COVID-19 safety guidelines. Vaccination will be required for attendance.
Questions? Contact us at 206.297.3024 or via email.
Water1st projects save lives & create opportunity. When the burden of water-hauling ends, families use enough water to stay healthy families stay healthier — and women and girls gain the time, dignity, and opportunities they deserve.
