In an event with first-grade students at JoAnna Connell Elementary School, in Erie, PA, Mayor Joe Schember, superintendent Dr. Natalyn Gibbs and chairman and CEO Todd Adams celebrated a significant product donation to Erie’s Public Schools (EPS).
“On behalf of Zurn Elkay, a company founded right here in Erie 125 years ago, I’m proud to announce our donation of 50 Elkay filtered bottle filling stations so that students, teachers and every staff member at EPS elementary schools can have access to the cleanest, safest, healthiest drinking water that Zurn Elkay can provide,” Todd said during the announcement. “The Elkay filter cartridges in these drinking water stations are tested and certified to reduce lead, and they do it right before it goes into the bottle.”
“We understand that if we want to provide each of our students with an exceptional educational experience every day, we must be as deliberate and intentional about improving health and wellness as we are about delivering rigorous curriculum,” Dr. Gibbs said. “With this gift, Zurn Elkay is helping us to do just that.”
Since the announcement, the donated units were installed across EPS’s 10 elementary schools, replacing unfiltered drinking fountains with one filtered bottle filling station per 100 students.
“Making sure we have clean water, that we don’t have to worry about sediment being in it, is very helpful in the development of young children we have here,” said Rob Causgrove, principal at JoAnna Connell. “A month ago, we had most of the original water fountains from the 1950s, but now that we’ve had Zurn Elkay come in with new bottle fillers, it’s a game-changer.”
The donation was part of Zurn Elkay’s yearlong celebration of the 125th anniversary of the company’s founding in Erie, where more than 160 associates are based. In addition to Todd, about 15 Milwaukee- and Erie-based associates attended the event.
“I think it’s so unique that we’re able to have this opportunity in Erie, our hometown where Zurn Elkay was founded,” said Matt Lawrence, sr. director - Siteworks, whose wife attended JoAnna Connell. “What’s awesome about it though is we’re not only able to help give back to the community, we’re able to help provide clean and safe access to drinking water, to really help improve the health and hydration of the community.”
“Here in Erie, Zurn Elkay isn’t just a business, it’s a part of our community’s history,” said Erie native Catherine DiLuzio, manager - product & application engineering. “It felt so wonderful to see our company give back to the very community that gave it its start all those years ago. I hope that there is a future where all children have access to healthy water, but for today I’m just happy to know that 5,000 of our children in Erie now have that access.”
“Growing up in the Erie Public School system and being a member of the Zurn Elkay team, I was so proud to have the opportunity to attend the announcement that the company was donating 50 water bottle filling stations and cartridges to schools across the district,” said Kelly Gifford, director - global supply chain & operations.
“I’m incredibly proud to work for a company that has made such a meaningful impact, donating water filtration systems to the schools I once attended and where my niece and nephew are now students,” said customer care manager Emina Hrnjic. “Knowing they have access to clean, safe drinking water because of this initiative makes the work we do deeply personal and truly fulfilling.”