Walking For Water at Morven Park
By Shannon Sollinger
Kristen Karinshak and her Heritage High School classmates never believed that one person can't make a difference. Thanks to them, and the Walking For Water fundraisers they have organized every year since 2004, the Dagara villagers in Burkina Faso in Africa have 15 new wells.
Kristen just got back from a year working with HIV/AIDS orphans in Namibia and finished her first year of studies at Northern Virginia Community College. She wants this year's Walking For Water, at Morven Park Equestrian Center May 31, to draw more walkers than in any previous year, and to raise $100,000.
This year, science teacher Mariah Gunderson is working with the Heritage students, and Kristen's older sister Micaela is bringing a contingent from Frostburg State University in Maryland.
Walkers (dogs on leashes are welcomed) can set off anytime between 8:30 a.m. and about 9:15a.m., with a choice of 5K and 10K walks through the fields and wooded slopes of Morven Park. Entry is $10 for students, $20 for adults, and includes a Walking For Water T-Shirt and a raucous closing ceremony.
Donations are accepted anytime of the year and are tax deductible. Send to Wisdom Spring Inc., P.O. Box 542, Leesburg, VA 20178.
The Morven Park Equestrian Center is on Tutt lane, just off U.S. 15 north of Leesburg. Call 703-505-5152, or go to www.wisdomspringinc.org to register online.
Contact the reporter at ssollinger@timespapers.com