Tap Project
Encyclopedia
The UNICEF Tap Project is a nationwide campaign that provides children from impoverished nations with access to safe, and clean water. The campaign culminates during World Water Week, March 20–26, 2011, celebrating the United Nations
’ World Water Day, March 22nd.
This campaign involves restaurants, dining patrons, students, and volunteers along with corporate, community, celebrity, and government supporters. During World Water Week restaurants across the United States encourage patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water
they usually enjoy for free. In tandem, UNICEF Tap Project volunteers support their efforts by conducting local fundraising events and activities.
Today, nearly 990 million people worldwide are without access to safe and clean drinking water. Meanwhile, every day 4,100 children die from water related diseases. The UNICEF Tap Project helps support UNICEF’s work towards the Millennium Development Goals
– Goal 7 – which is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
.
and launched on March 22, 2007 – World Water Day. The concept was to encourage patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free. The funds would go towards providing impoverished children with clean drinking water; with $1, UNICEF can provide a child with access to clean, safe water for 40 days. That first year the campaign was only on World Water Day, since then it has centered on World Water Week.
The first Tap Project that took place in New York City had the support of thousands of patrons at over three hundred restaurants, which helped to raise about $100,000 in funds. Since 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project has raised nearly $2.5 million for water and sanitation programs for children.
, Guatemala
, the Central African Republic
, Côte d'Ivoire
, Haiti
, Iraq
, Togo
and Vietnam
. Some of these programs, that aim to improve children's lives, include: drilling of wells
, the installation of water pumps, building latrines in impoverished communities, and classes that teach lifesaving hygiene to school children and their families. The Tap Project campaign also includes programs that support rainwater harvesting
and affordable water filters.
created the campaign “Acqua for Life”. This campaign incorporated the use of his cologne
“Aqua di Giò” for men, through which he raised awareness and funds towards the Tap Project. In 2011, Armani expanded his campaign by adding a new fragrance for women called “Aqua di Gioia”. Giorgio Armani donates $1 for every purchased bottle of these two fragrances, during the month of March. The campaign takes into account bottles purchased within the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico
and Washington D.C.
Turner Broadcasting System
has participated in the Tap Project campaign for four consecutive years. This organization sponsors UNICEF Tap Project Volunteer Program by providing funds to aid in the recruitment and training of volunteers, resources and free advertisement to raise awareness for the Tap Project campaign.
Droga5
is an advertising agency created in 2006 and partnered with the UNICEF in 2007 to aid with the Tap Project campaign. Droga5 creates promotional material that supports the initiative, by promoting the project in various media prior and during World Water Week, which brings awareness about the UNICEF Tap Project’s efforts to help with the water crisis
around the world.
eBay
joined the UNICEF’s efforts towards providing clean and safe water to children around the world through the Tap Project in 2009. The company created a campaign called GivingWorks, in which eBay gives its customers and sellers the opportunity to donate a percentage of their profit made through eBay. People can also donate money when checking out products or shop listings that support the cause.
The UNICEF Tap Project also relies on the promotional help of different providers like MediaVest USA
, American Express
, Zagat Survey
, OpenTable
, SeamlessWeb
and Yelp, Inc. These companies provide free advertising and media exposure to the campaign.
The money raised from any donation related to Celebrity Tap, will be used to provide children with clean and safe water around the world. To this day, some of the celebrities participating in this project are: Selena Gomez
, Taylor Swift
, Robin Williams
, Dwight Howard
, Rihanna
and Adrian Grenier
. Aside from providing water from their own home, celebrities participating in this project volunteered their time for commercials and advertising campaigns to promote the UNICEF Tap Project.
in France, for creative innovation.
In 2008, the Tap Project was awarded with the distinction of Gold by The Advertising Club of New York
’s International ANDY Awards, for Public Service and with Silver for Integrated Branding.(Gold / 2008 Richard T. O. Reilly) for Public Service Also, in the same year Jay Aldous, who is the former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, was co-recipient of the inaugural Non-profit Marketer of the Year award from the American Marketing Association
and the American Marketing Association Foundation.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
’ World Water Day, March 22nd.
This campaign involves restaurants, dining patrons, students, and volunteers along with corporate, community, celebrity, and government supporters. During World Water Week restaurants across the United States encourage patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water
Tap water
Tap water is a principal component of "indoor plumbing", which became available in urban areas of the developed world during the last quarter of the 19th century, and common during the mid-20th century...
they usually enjoy for free. In tandem, UNICEF Tap Project volunteers support their efforts by conducting local fundraising events and activities.
Today, nearly 990 million people worldwide are without access to safe and clean drinking water. Meanwhile, every day 4,100 children die from water related diseases. The UNICEF Tap Project helps support UNICEF’s work towards the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
– Goal 7 – which is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
.
History
The UNICEF Tap Project was created in 2007 by a New York City based advertising/communications agency called Droga5Droga5
Opened in 2006, Droga5 is an independent advertising agency started by David Droga, who serves as its Creative Chairman. Headquartered in Manhattan, Droga5 also has offices in Sydney and New Zealand...
and launched on March 22, 2007 – World Water Day. The concept was to encourage patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free. The funds would go towards providing impoverished children with clean drinking water; with $1, UNICEF can provide a child with access to clean, safe water for 40 days. That first year the campaign was only on World Water Day, since then it has centered on World Water Week.
The first Tap Project that took place in New York City had the support of thousands of patrons at over three hundred restaurants, which helped to raise about $100,000 in funds. Since 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project has raised nearly $2.5 million for water and sanitation programs for children.
Destination of funds
The UNICEF Tap Project funds raised throughout the campaign go towards different UNICEF programs that include water, hygiene and sanitation programs. Money raised through the Tap Project has helped children, to have access to clean water, in countries like BelizeBelize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Some of these programs, that aim to improve children's lives, include: drilling of wells
Well drilling
Well drilling is the process of drilling a hole in the ground for the extraction of a natural resource such as ground water, natural gas, or petroleum...
, the installation of water pumps, building latrines in impoverished communities, and classes that teach lifesaving hygiene to school children and their families. The Tap Project campaign also includes programs that support rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is the accumulating and storing of rainwater for reuse before it reaches the aquifer. It has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation, as well as other typical uses. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses and local institutions can...
and affordable water filters.
| Country that has received aid | year |
|---|---|
| Angola Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city... |
2007 |
| Belize Belize Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official... |
2008, 2009 |
| Central African Republic Central African Republic The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,... |
2010, 2011 |
| Cote d’Ivoire | 2008, 2009 |
| Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast... |
2010 |
| Haiti Haiti Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island... |
2010 |
| Iraq Iraq Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.... |
2007, 2008, 2009 |
| Laos Laos Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west... |
2007 |
| Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean... |
2008, 2009 |
| Togo Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately... |
2010, 2011 |
| Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... |
2010, 2011 |
National sponsors
Since 2007 Tap Project has had various sponsors that have collaborated to the campaign. In 2010, Giorgio ArmaniGiorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...
created the campaign “Acqua for Life”. This campaign incorporated the use of his cologne
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
“Aqua di Giò” for men, through which he raised awareness and funds towards the Tap Project. In 2011, Armani expanded his campaign by adding a new fragrance for women called “Aqua di Gioia”. Giorgio Armani donates $1 for every purchased bottle of these two fragrances, during the month of March. The campaign takes into account bottles purchased within the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Washington D.C.
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
has participated in the Tap Project campaign for four consecutive years. This organization sponsors UNICEF Tap Project Volunteer Program by providing funds to aid in the recruitment and training of volunteers, resources and free advertisement to raise awareness for the Tap Project campaign.
Droga5
Droga5
Opened in 2006, Droga5 is an independent advertising agency started by David Droga, who serves as its Creative Chairman. Headquartered in Manhattan, Droga5 also has offices in Sydney and New Zealand...
is an advertising agency created in 2006 and partnered with the UNICEF in 2007 to aid with the Tap Project campaign. Droga5 creates promotional material that supports the initiative, by promoting the project in various media prior and during World Water Week, which brings awareness about the UNICEF Tap Project’s efforts to help with the water crisis
Water crisis
Water crisis is a general term used to describe a situation where the available water within a region is less than the region's demand. The term has been used to describe the availability of potable water in a variety of regions by the United Nations and other world organizations...
around the world.
eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
joined the UNICEF’s efforts towards providing clean and safe water to children around the world through the Tap Project in 2009. The company created a campaign called GivingWorks, in which eBay gives its customers and sellers the opportunity to donate a percentage of their profit made through eBay. People can also donate money when checking out products or shop listings that support the cause.
The UNICEF Tap Project also relies on the promotional help of different providers like MediaVest USA
MediaVest USA
MediaVest USA, founded in 1959, is a leading, full-service media specialist agency, offering clients a wide spectrum of communication expertise relating to advertising media selection services . MediaVest USA is based in New York City, with additional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and San...
, American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
, Zagat Survey
Zagat Survey
Zagat Survey was established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979 as a way to collect and correlate the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering New York City, the Zagats surveyed their friends. As of 2005, the Zagat Survey included 70 cities, with reviews based on the input of...
, OpenTable
OpenTable
OpenTable is an online real-time restaurant reservation service founded by Chuck Templeton in San Francisco, CA in 1998. Reservations are free to end users; the company charges restaurants monthly and per-reservation fees for their use of the system. In 1999, the website began operations...
, SeamlessWeb
SeamlessWeb
Seamless is an online food ordering web site and suite of mobile apps that allows users to order food for delivery and takeout from restaurants....
and Yelp, Inc. These companies provide free advertising and media exposure to the campaign.
Celebrity Tap
In order to increase its funds towards the Tap Project, the UNICEF created Celebrity Tap, which consists of packing water from the faucets of celebrities’ homes, into fancy bottles. For every $5 donated through the Tap Project website, participants will enter for a chance to win a case of the luxury celebrity tap waterThe money raised from any donation related to Celebrity Tap, will be used to provide children with clean and safe water around the world. To this day, some of the celebrities participating in this project are: Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place...
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
, Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard
Dwight David Howard is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy...
, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
and Adrian Grenier
Adrian Grenier
Adrian Grenier is an American actor, musician and director. He is best known for his lead role on the HBO original series, Entourage, as Vincent Chase.-Early life:...
. Aside from providing water from their own home, celebrities participating in this project volunteered their time for commercials and advertising campaigns to promote the UNICEF Tap Project.
Awards
Since its implementation in 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project has gained public recognition by various organizations, which have granted the project prizes and awards. In June of 2007, the Tap project won the Titanium Lion, at the Cannes Lions International Advertising FestivalCannes Lions International Advertising Festival
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
in France, for creative innovation.
In 2008, the Tap Project was awarded with the distinction of Gold by The Advertising Club of New York
The Advertising Club of New York
The Advertising Club of New York, also known as The Ad Club and originally called the Sphinx Club, focuses efforts on advertising industry self-regulation, professional training and good fellowship.- Origins :...
’s International ANDY Awards, for Public Service and with Silver for Integrated Branding.(Gold / 2008 Richard T. O. Reilly) for Public Service Also, in the same year Jay Aldous, who is the former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, was co-recipient of the inaugural Non-profit Marketer of the Year award from the American Marketing Association
American Marketing Association
The American Marketing Association is a professional association for marketers. As of 2008 it had approximately 40,000 members. There are 76 professional chapters and 250 collegiate chapters across the United States....
and the American Marketing Association Foundation.
Notable media
- Top Chef MastersTop Chef MastersTop Chef Masters is an American reality competition show currently broadcast on the cable television network Bravo. It is a spinoff of Bravo's hit show Top Chef. In the series, 24 world-renowned chefs compete against each other in weekly challenges...
– Marcus SamuelssonMarcus SamuelssonMarcus Samuelsson is a Swedish chef and co-owner of Aquavit restaurant in New York City and C-House Restaurant, located in the Affinia Hotel in Chicago.-Early life and career:...
won, with the UNICEF Tap Project as his benefiting charity - Dr. PhilDr. Phil (TV series)Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
- The Ellen DeGeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
- The Rachael Ray ShowRachael Ray (TV series)Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....
- The Martha Stewart ShowMartha (TV series)Martha, also known as The Martha Stewart Show, is an American, weekday one-hour talk show hosted by Martha Stewart. Previously airing in first-run syndication, the show began exclusively airing on cable network Hallmark Channel since September 13, 2010.-History:The program originally debuted on...
External links
- "Tap Project." Tap Project Homepage. 17 Feb. 2009
- Bennett, A. "Celebrating the Tap Project." Unicef.org. 17 Feb. 2009
- "World Water Council." 16 Mar. 2009