Student launches campaign for water stations

Lily Konik, Intro Reporter|October 8, 2014

This one of the many water bottles Katie Gebhardt, sophomore, designed in order to raise money for refilling stations. Last year, Katie brought a regular water bottle to lunch, but now she gets to use a Homestead one she designed herself. “This is just what we need. I am looking forward to have these in our school,” Mira Mayer said.

This one of the many water bottles Katie Gebhardt, sophomore, designed in order to raise money for refilling stations. Last year, Katie brought a regular water bottle to lunch, but now she gets to use a Homestead one she designed herself. “This is just what we need. I am looking forward to have these in our school,” Mira Mayer said.

“When you live in a town like Mequon you don’t realize that little things need help and assistance… when, in reality, there are a lot of things all around us that could use the extra help,” Katie Gebhardt, sophomore, said. In the middle of the summer, Gebhardt started becoming involved with the idea of incorporating stations at Homestead to provide filtered water known as refilling stations.

At first, the AVID program was taking control of this project, but Gebhardt thought about it and realized she wanted to help make a change of how her student body recycles at her school. Using a refilling station, students and faculty could quickly fill reusable water bottles with clean filtered water to avoid wasting plastic bottles. The point of this is to improve the recycling system in our school. By doing that, students will have the privilege to have fresh water. “The goal is to install two refilling stations at Homestead,” Gebhardt explained.

Ms. Susan Godfrey, physical education and AVID teacher, said, “During lunch we pick up everybody’s water bottles and then watch kids throw stuff in the garbage without doing anything about it.” To help spark this change, Ms. Godfrey has been Gebhardt’s mentor throughout the process. Gebhardt and Ms.Godfrey started working together when Gebhardt came up with the idea that in order to raise $2,700 for the water stations they needed to sell Homestead water bottles that Gebhardt designed.

“All throughout last year and cross country season, one of my biggest issues was dehydration. I brought a water bottle to school but I finished it by the time practice started, and I had no where to fill it up, so I decided to take on this idea with AVID,” Gebhardt explained.

At Homestead, students typically avoid the water fountains because of the horrid taste of the water. Gebhardt hopes that having refilling stations will encourage more students to drink water.

“I get really thirsty during the day but do not want to drink out of Homestead’s water fountains. This will affect me as an athlete because it will allow us to get better water at practice so I will be more hydrated,” Jordan Schroeder, freshman and JV football player, explained.

“I would hope that everybody at Homestead would drink more water because water is the fuel for the brain,” Ms. Godfrey said.

“Currently, I am working on raising awareness and selling the water bottles. Once we raise enough money, I am hoping the water bottle stations will be put in quickly,” Gebhardt stated.

 

This one of the many water bottles Katie Gebhardt, sophomore, designed in order to raise money for refilling stations. Last year, Katie brought a regular water bottle to lunch, but now she gets to use a Homestead one she designed herself. “This is just what we need. I am looking forward to have these in our school,” Mira Mayer said.
This one of the many water bottles Katie Gebhardt, sophomore, designed in order to raise money for refilling stations. Last year, Katie brought a regular water bottle to lunch, but now she gets to use a Homestead one she designed herself. “This is just what we need. I am looking forward to have these in our school,” Mira Mayer, freshman, said.