MBE for Southern Water’s charity champion
Howard Lake | 31 October 2008 | News
Kevin Buck, Chairman of the Southern Water’s WaterAid Committee, was today (Thurs Oct 30) awarded an MBE for his services to the charity.
Kevin, of Shoreham, West Sussex, began his 19-year-involvement with WaterAid by running the staff lottery within Southern Water. He has since held various roles within the committee, including the position of Treasurer and for the past four years, Chairman. A staggering £1million has been raised, with Kevin’s help, so far for WaterAid.
Kevin visited India with WaterAid in 1993, which he describes as the most humbling experience of his life:
“To see the real difference the money we were raising made to so many lives was incredible. The trip inspired me to continue to do as much as I could to help. The main focus of WaterAid has always been ‘helping people help themselves’, and this remains as strong today as when it was first established as a charitable trust back in 1981.
“Seeing the smiles on children’s faces, when all we were doing was helping them have the basics in life, was something I will never forget.”
Of his MBE, Kevin said:
“To receive this sort of recognition is a huge honour but very humbling. Although I have been recognised for this award, it is very much a team effort. The fantastic fundraising achievements have been the result of the committee as a whole.”
Nikki Skipper, WaterAid’s Regional Development Manager, said:
“Kevin is exceptional – his support is long-standing, and, if anything, it has increased significantly over the last few years. He is also very modest about his achievements and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this honour, Kevin has been one of our most committed and active supporters. He has inspired literally thousands of people to support WaterAid’s projects.”
WaterAid is a leading independent organisation which enables the world’s poorest to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Southern Water, its employees and customers have been supporting WaterAid since 1981 by promoting its vital work and organising and taking part in fundraising events.
For information about WaterAid’s projects please visit
www.wateraid.org
Ends
Contacts:
WaterAid – Lisa Martin Tel: 020 7793 4524 li********@wa******.org
Southern Water – Karen Hoy Tel: 01903 272621 Ka*******@so***********.uk
Note to editors:
WaterAid enables the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Our vision is of a world where everyone has access to these basic human rights which underpin health, education and livelihoods forming the first, essential step in overcoming poverty.
* At least 5000 children die every day as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.
* 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one in eight of the world’s population.
* 2.5 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation, this is almost two fifths of the world’s population.
* WaterAid projects providing safe water, sanitation and hygiene education cost just £15 per head.
Southern Water, its employees and customers have supported WaterAid since its creation by organising and taking part in fundraising events and making donations.
Recent achievements:
* In 2007, Southern Water exceeded its fundraising target of £200,000 for the year, which helped more than 13,000 people.
* The company has since raised more than £130,000 for WaterAid at a charity ball in March and raised a further £9,000 in July at a golf day.
* On Saturday, October 4 2008, Southern Water held its second charity race day in aid of WaterAid at Fontwell Park Racecourse, near Arundel in West Sussex, rasing nearly £100,000 for WaterAid – enough to help more than 6,000 people. This has helped Southern Water succeed our fund-raising target of £250,000 for the year.
* Employees also take part in a monthly WaterAid lottery directly through their pay, with cash prizes every month across the industry.
Kevin Buck works in Domestic Collections at Southern Water’s Durrington site in Worthing, for more information visit:
http://www.southernwater.co.uk
For more information contact:
Lisa Martin
WaterAid
t: 020 7793 4524
e: li********@wa******.org
Brenda Mcilwraith
WaterAid
t: +44(0)20 7793 4909
e: br**************@wa******.org
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.