More than a drop in the bucket in Lakewood Ranch

The pandemic isn’t stopping the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch from trying to help 3,600 people in Villa Talandracas, Peru, to get clean water and better sanitation in the village.

Club members are going to be on the move in their neighborhoods and at Nathan Benderson Park on March 27 for its fifth annual Walk for Water fundraiser.

To ensure the safety of event participants, the fundraiser will be conducted virtually with participants taking photos of themselves walking and posting them to Facebook. 

A small group of Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch members will be at Nathan Benderson Park live streaming during the fundraiser.

This year’s goal is to raise $155,000 through donations, funds from Walk for Water, Rotary District 6960 and Rotary International grant funding.

“There’s a synergy and an energy that’s around when people are passionate about helping,” said Laura Adcock, the president of the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch. “It’s larger than us. It’s larger than COVID-19. It’s longer lasting. It’s a basic necessity.”

The Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch is the host club that works with Rotary International to identify what the villages need.

Water Missions International, a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions in disaster areas and developing countries, evaluates the land and develops a filtration system.

Members of the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch work with Water Missions International to educate the community.

“It’s a holistic approach that we love and get excited about because 10 years from now, that project is still going to be up and running,” Adcock said. “When rotary does a grant and agrees to match the funds, they make sure the project is sustainable, and it’s going to last.”

This year’s grant of $155,000 is the largest amount the club has ever had to raise, Adcock said.

The Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch hopes to raise at least $20,000 through Walk for Water to go toward the $155,000.

Adcock said that she looks forward to being able to participate in the fundraiser with her son, Charlie Meserve, and her husband, Kevin Meserve.

“There’s something about being able to help people I will never meet, yet I’m able to help them,” Adcock said. “There’s something so deep about that. There’s something that’s quietening to the soul because you’re not doing it for any other reason than to help.”

The Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch started Walk for Water five years ago at Harvest United Methodist Church.

Adcock said participants would do a symbolic walk to represent the distance women and children had to walk each day to get water for their families. Participants would use buckets and walk to a trough to fill them with water and walk back to empty their buckets.

The event grew and was moved to Nathan Benderson Park where the rotary would have live music, raffles and more.

Besides the Walk for Water fundraiser, club members are finding other ways to support the project.

Sarasota’s George Lewis, who is a member of the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch, has been busy using photos of people’s pets to turn them into oil paintings.

Sarasota’s Autumn Courter, who is the 8-year-old daughter of club member Susan Courter, raises money through her Shells for a Cause project.

Autumn Courter paints sea shells she collects from beaches around southwest Florida and uses them to create wind chimes.