March 22, 2011---Most restaurants in the United States offer their customers a glass of tap water at no charge with their meal, but this week many restaurants are asking dinners to pay a dollar, or more, for a glass of water. Cards on their tables explain that this small amount helps bring clean water to children around the world. It's called the UNICEF Tap Project. "UNICEF's Tap Project is really all about bringing attention to the fact that over 900 million people around the globe do not have access to good, clean, healthy drinking water," says Cary Stem, who heads the US Fund for UNICEF. She adds that water-borne illness is the second-highest cause of preventable childhood death in the world. "Each and every day approximately 4,100 children die just because they don't have that access - 4,100 every single day." The public service campaign encourages people to help change that statistic with a simple, affordable action: paying a dollar to get a glass of tap water at a restaurant. "One dollar buys enough good, clean water for a child for 40 days," Stem says. "The tap project has expanded since it began five years ago with 300 restaurants in New York City. This year, Stem says, about 3,000 restaurants across the country are participating in the campaign. We raised about $2.5 million over the last five years of this campaign," says Stem. "Last year, we raised over $1 million for the first time. This year we're hoping to top that." Stem credits the continued success of the campaign to an army of volunteers who support the tap project and raise money in their communities. The UNICEF Tap Project is promoting its efforts with a simple motto: when you take water, give water. Currently, UNICEF works in more than 100 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities. Stem hopes that, by participating in the project, more Americans will realize that what they often take for granted is a precious and scarce resource in many other parts of the world. Restaurants began to charge for tap water to   _  .
increase their profit urge customers to save water raise people's awareness of the world water problem collect money for those without access to safe water