AFFILIATES

What is USELESS?

USELESS is a social enterprise devoted to the concept of using less of the world’s natural resources and giving more.  Useless offers simple ways for each of us to reduce our carbon footprint by reducing, reusing and recycling.
 
A main concern of USELESS is the impact of plastic on our environment, particularly plastic water bottles.  In the United States, we are fortunate to have clean drinkable water straight from our tap, and yet many of us buy bottled water thinking this is the healthier choice. In fact, much of the bottled water we buy is tap water conveniently packaged for travel and marketed as “pure”.  While many of us are conscientious about tossing our used bottles into recycling bins, only ten percent of plastic water bottles are recycled.  The rest become toxic waste in our landfills and oceans.  Plastic in our oceans is becoming deadly food for fish.  In short we are literally beginning to eat our own garbage.

USELESS encourages people to begin the habit of filling our own reusable water bottles from our tap at home. In addition to reducing plastic waste, we make our water bottles here in the U.S., so we also reduce the high carbon costs associated with transporting millions of disposable water bottles or reusable water bottles made overseas.  If one person begins the habit, that person alone will prevent at least thirty plastic water bottles from landing in the ocean in just one month. 

So what about giving more? USELESS wants to remind us that many people in the world’s developing countries still do not have the basic human need of access to clean drinking water.  Hundreds of children die every day from dysentery and other preventable health problems because the water they drink is not suitable for human consumption. 

That is why 10% of Useless profits go directly to funding water projects all over the world.  Useless has partnered with Wherever the Need, an organization that builds wells and sanitary facilities in villages and communities in need around the world and H20 for Life Schools.  Currently, H2O for Life has nearly 100 schools partnered with schools in developing countries. U.S. students are studying global water crisis issues, and taking action to raise funds to support their partner schools.

We invite your School to become a USELESS partner. Students could help raise awareness about the many environmental issues the world is facing today through a Useless student group. Though the groups’ activities would be entirely directed by students and staff at your school, USELESS could be used as a resource for information, curriculum and/or any big event or activity the school might want to undertake. USELESS could help by providing speakers, performers, consultants, internships, and positive media attention. Additionally, USELESS could provide wholesale prices for environmentally and socially responsible co-branded products. These safe, USA-made and sustainable products could be used to help raise money to fund water and sanitation projects in the developing world.  As we have on the ground partners who match funding for these affordable water projects, excess funds can be used for other school centered projects such as a revolving green fund.

For more information, please go to http://www.useless.org/.

 

Participate with Your Partner in World Water Monitoring Day!

Free water quality test kits available

 Each year, tens of thousands of students around the world participate in World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD).  Officially observed on September 18 (monitoring may be done anytime from March 22 until December 31), WWMD encourages communities to test their local water resources in order to boost awareness of water quality issues.  

An easy-to-use test kit enables people of all ages to monitor a waterway of their choosing for dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and temperature.  Next, they share the results of their testing with the world via the World Water Monitoring Day website.

 In 2009, WWMD is making a special offer to H2O for Life partners in order to encourage them to participate in the program together.  For each of the water quality test kits purchased by a U.S.-based H2O for Life partner school, WWMD will donate a test kit to the developing world partner school.  To sign-up, simply complete the online form and follow the directions included at the bottom.  

Questions about WWMD can be sent to wwmd@wef.org.  Additional program resources can be found under the ?Resources? section of the WWMD website?http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/.   

 

Africare helps Africa. A leader among private, charitable U.S. organizations assisting Africa, Africare is also the oldest and largest African-American led organization in the field — and Africa is Africare's specialty.

Africare's programs address needs in three principal areas:
* Health and HIV/AIDS
* Food security and agriculture
* Emergency response
Complementing and extending our work in those focus areas, Africare supports programs in:
* Water resource development
* Environmental management
* Literacy and vocational training
* Microenterprise development
* Civil-society development and governance
Visit www.africare.org to find out more.

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