GUELPH – St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic School has piloted a new program combining the school’s environmental and social justice objectives with local social enterprise, Fill It Forward.
The program saw reusable water bottles with QR coded stickers given to all students from Grades 1 to 8 by Fill It Forward, who creates interactive technologies, global giving initiatives and reusable products that inspire the world to reuse.
When students refill their water bottle, they can scan the QR code and a donation is provided to Water First, an Ontario based non-profit organization dedicated to helping First Nation communities across Canada solve local water challenges through education, training and meaningful collaboration.
“For this project we partnered with a water charity called Water First that does incredible work in our Indigenous communities right here in Ontario,” shared Fill it Forward founder and CEO Matt Wittek.
“So each time they are scanning they are making an environmental impact and they are also helping people as well.”
When students fill their bottle and scan the QR code, they are shown a tally of the impact the school is having on the environment by using reusable water bottles, including details on C02 emission, landfill and ocean waste that has been diverted, in addition to being able to track personal impact.
So far, the campaign has been an overwhelming success.
With an original campaign goal of 2,000 reuses with a 25 cent donation for each reuse, the school has already had 981 scans within the first month.
“We love to celebrate the school. We really couldn’t do the work we are doing without the support of the school and the students and the parents getting involved,” said Wittek.
“Reception has been very positive and this can only happen with the support of the schools and the administrators that we have had here so that’s amazing.”
For St. Ignatius principal Michelle Nagy, it was an easy decision to pilot the program with the school community.
“It is a fantastic initiative that everyone is able to participate in and not only that, but it helps our environment as well by not using any disposable water bottles,” she shared.
“We look forward to continuing to raise money for Water First.”
While St. Ignatius is the first Wellington Catholic District School Board school to take on the project, Fill It Forward has aspirations to partner with more schools in Guelph and Wellington County.
“We would love to have more schools involved,” Wittek said. “It is a great opportunity to educate students around the benefits of reuse and sustainability, as well as a moment of appreciation because not everybody can fill their bottle at a school with clean water – it’s just not accessible to everyone in the world.
“So our hope is that this may be a pause and a moment of reflection for students, as well as an appreciation around doing good for people and the planet.”
For those interested in piloting the program, visit fillitforward.com.
