Walk for Water Iron Giraffe Challenge
Date: 04/15/2026
Time: 10:00 am-11:30 am
Location: Heise Park Football Stadium, Galion, OH, only open to local media sources – not the general public
Organizer: Cindy Strickler & Alison Wletmer
Cost: Free
Contact and more info:
strickler.cindy@galionschools.org
About the event:
The seventh grade students and teachers at Galion Middle School are excited to announce that we are having a fundraiser called Walk for Water. Our fundraiser was inspired by the novel A Long Walk to Water, and the true story of Salva Dut and the South Sudan water crisis.
Salva Dut, whose story inspired the novel, founded Water for South Sudan, an organization that builds wells and provides communities with access to clean water. When the students learned about it, they almost unanimously voted to raise money to support Salva and his mission.
As part of our fundraiser, the seventh grade team at Galion Middle School will be participating in The Iron Giraffe Challenge. This is a challenge for schools to raise more than $1,000 for Water for South Sudan. Schools that successfully complete the challenge will be entered into a drawing for a visit from Salva Dut himself!
Our Walk for Water Fundraiser will take place during the school day on April 15 at the football stadium. Although our event is not open to the public, it is open to local media sources. For this event, students will walk laps around the track while carrying a one-gallon jug of water. This is meant to help students better understand the daily burden many people in South Sudan face.
Students will be collecting sponsors who can either pledge a dollar amount for each lap completed or make a flat donation. All money raised by our students will be donated to Salva Dut’s organization.
Our students are looking forward to turning learning into action and making a difference in the lives of others!