UW-Madison News Release--Run Benefits El Salvador Project

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> 4/10/08
>
> CONTACT: Jim Beal, (608) 263-0611, jbeal@engr.wisc.edu
>
> PI MILE RUN BENEFITS WELL WATER PROJECT IN EL SALVADOR
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> MADISON - As 255 University of Wisconsin-Madison students and community members thundered down the Lakeshore Path on the first warm Saturday morning in April, they dodged muddy puddles and happy pedestrians out for a weekend walk along Lake Mendota.
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> The runners' motivation? A worthy cause and several hundred slices of pie waiting at the finish line.
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> April 5 was the eighth annual Pi Mile Run, hosted by the UW-Madison chapter of Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society. This year boasted double the attendance of last year's event, with participants running in either a 5k (3.14 miles) or 10k race.
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> All race proceeds go toward a clean water project in El Salvador.
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> Mechanical engineering student Ted Durkee, who coordinated the 2007 run, connected the honor society with the El Salvador project. Two summers ago, Durkee traveled to El Salvador to work with ENLACE, a nonprofit organization that develops sustainable initiatives in El Salvador.
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> Currently, families in the communities of Las Delicias, Las Animas and El Rosario spend a third of their meager income trucking in water - yet, the water comes from one of the most polluted rivers in El Salvador.
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> During his stay in El Salvador, Durkee learned that community residents have been trying to get clean water for more than 50 years. The three communities, which combined have a population of 6,100, now are working together on their attempts to build a well water system. They finally developed formal plans in 2002.
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> Although the communities have the will to implement the project and ENLACE provides organizational support, they lack the finances to get the wells and pipes in place.
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> Biomedical engineering student Jessica Hause organized the 2008 Pi Mile Run, with help from Durkee and biomedical engineering student Sarah Steenblock. As in 2007, they again chose the Las Delicias water project as the charity to benefit from race sponsors and registration fees. "We volunteered for this because we were really excited about the opportunity to organize a community event and help fulfill a need that will directly change people's lives," Durkee says.
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> The strong turnout means Tau Beta Pi will donate about $4,000 - an amount that will make a significant difference. Every $20 equals 8 feet of pipe for the well system, according to Hause.
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> A variety of sponsors, including URS Washington Division; Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer and Associates Inc.; Polygon Engineering Council; Saris Cycling Group; Rudolph & Sletten Inc; Underground Printing; Fontana Sports; Montgomery Associates; and Hey and Associates Inc., also helped make the Pi Mile Run a success, says Durkee.
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> "We were really excited and pleasantly surprised by the generosity of our sponsors this year. That definitely had a tremendous effect on the event and enabled us to make a much bigger impact on our chosen charity," he says.
> ###
> - Sandra Knisely, (608) 262-2481, perspective@engr.wisc.edu
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