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Valley Forge Elementary School recently received a grant for a new bottle-filling station at their school.
Schools were encouraged to submit a creative project along with their grant application that highlighted why drinking water is important to your health, and students at Valley Forge did a terrific job with their video.
Valley Forge was one of 30 schools from across the state that was selected by Delta Dental of Tennessee to receive “Water’s Cool @ School” grants to replace an existing water fountain with an Elkay bottle filling station. Now in its third year, the Water’s Cool @ School grant program aims to teach kids about the importance of drinking more water and to make it easier for kids to stay properly hydrated during the school day. To date, more than 100 schools across Tennessee have received grants for a new bottle-filling station through the program.
“Drinking more water is one of the best and easiest things you can do for your health at any age, and the creative video and art project submissions we received from schools across Tennessee clearly show that drinking more water can in fact also be the ‘cool’ thing to do,” said Dr. Phil Wenk, CEO of Delta Dental of Tennessee. “Thank you to all of the schools that applied this year, and congratulations to the grant recipients!”
The 30 selected schools will receive their new bottle filling station and toothbrushes for all students, faculty, and staff. A select group of schools recognized for the creativity of their applications will also receive water bottles for all students and staff.
As part of the grant application process, schools are encouraged, but not required, to submit creative projects along with their application that highlights how water is good for your health, what makes a healthy smile, or why the school needs a water bottle filling station.
Examples from this year’s applicants include: artwork created by students at Ellen Myers Primary School; White House Heritage Elementary School’s video highlighting the need for a new bottle filler to cut down on long lines; a newscast-style video produced by Mary Hughes School that tells the story of “Liquid Lady,” a superhero who captures the “Water Bottle Bandit” and “Dehydration Devil” after they are no longer able to run away due to their poor hydration, and Drummonds Elementary School’s parody of Justin Timberlake’s song “Can’t Stop the Feeling” entitled “Drink More Water.”
Valley Forge students also produced a short video on the inconvenience of water fountains to fill their water bottles.