Over 700 attendees participated in Wells of Life’s fourth annual Run4Water fundraiser held in conjunction with Earth Day on April 22 at Laguna Niguel Regional Park. Organizers were thrilled to accomplish their fundraising goal of recruiting 50 teams to fund 40 sustainable water wells for rural communities in Uganda, Africa. The top fundraising team from San Francisco Solano Church, RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) in Rancho Santa Margarita raised $30,260. Run4Water featured 5K and 1K runs/walks, sponsor exhibit booths, give-aways, a Tesla auto exhibit, children’s activities and food trucks.
Teams were encouraged to raise $6,000 to fund one water well that provides clean water to 1,000 villagers for up to 25 years. Wells of Life raises all overhead so 100% of donations fund the actual well production. Other top fundraising teams included Team Mike Martin at $12,635 and Team Stokas raised $12,340. Funds were also raised for wells in memory of the Rev. Billy Graham and Margaret Jordan, mother of Wells of Life founder Nick Jordan.
Top overall race competitors were Cory Costa in the 5K male category with a time of 18:43, fol-lowed by John Wacker at 18:45. Sarah Diehl of Laguna Niguel finished first in the female division with a time of 20:59, followed by Sydney Lovejoy at 23:02.
Festivities were led by Wells of Life founder and executive director Nick Jordan and president Pete Callahan. Run4Water sponsor Pedego Electric Bikes donated an electric bike valued at $2,295 won by longtime Wells of Life supporter Rick Cabral. Team Pedego also finished fourth in the fundraising category raising $12,556. Other opportunity prizes included a one-year family membership at Renaissance Club Sport, a two-night stay at Renaissance Club Sport and a Madrid skateboard.