Rainwater Revival Opens Grant Applications to Schools in 17 Hill Country Counties to Schools in 17 Hill Country Counties

Organizers of the Rainwater Revival are seeking grant applications from elementary and middle schools in 17 counties throughout the Hill Country to be used for water conservation education or rainwater harvesting projects at school sites. The award-winning Revival is a day of fun, music and events designed to help everyone learn how to capture and use rainwater for drinking and irrigation.

“Children’s activities at the Rainwater Revival are interactive, with arts and crafts geared toward helping them understand that both surface and groundwater are finite and easily compromised by a variety of factors,” Karen Ford, one of the event’s founders, said. “Schools are having a hard time financially and the grants encourage schools to incorporate these lessons into their school programs and to teach by example by using rainwater catchment systems at the schools.”

The grants are funded by the auction of professionally decorated rain barrels at the annual event. Hill Country area artists donate their time and talent, and many of the rain barrels are donated by local businesses. See last year’s works of art.
“Grants from the first Rainwater Revival were distributed last year to three Hays County elementary schools, but as the Revival grows and moves throughout Central Texas, we’ve decided to open the applications to elementary and middle schools in a larger area where water resources are prioritized,” said Christy Muse, Executive Director of the Hill Country Alliance, a non-profit whose mission includes protecting water resources.

Grants of up to $900 per selected application will be awarded for use during the 2012-2013 school year. The application deadline is June1, and recipients will be selected by July 1. Applications can be emailed to info@RainwaterRevival.com or mailed to HCA-Rainwater Revival, Attention Grant Program, 15315 Hwy. 71 West, Bee Cave, TX 78738.

Grant requests should include:

-A one-page description of the project, including number of students reached, expected outcomes, length or duration of project, and general management and participation in the project;
-Project budget, including grant amount requested and, if anticipated, matching funds or in-kind services (matches not required);
-Letter(s) of support from school principal and any others, as appropriate;
-Primary contact name, phone and email.

The 2012 Rainwater Revival, a free event filled with music, food, fun and rainwater education from basic to advanced, is set for Saturday, October 27, at the Boerne Convention Center, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the Hill Country Alliance and others interested in responsible use and protection of water resources. For more information about the Rainwater Revival or the grant program, see www.rainwaterrevival.com.