2026 Walk For Water
Beaufort County Community Hits New Record
story by JEANNE REYNOLDS photos by PAUL NURNBERG
“Love in action.”
That’s how Nan Krueger describes the nearly 700 Beaufort County residents who stepped up to raise a record high estimated $93,000 in the 10th annual Walk for Water events in Port Royal and Bluffton.
“You’re a community helping another community you’ll never see,” Nan, the Walk committee chair, told the crowd in Port Royal just before they embarked on a three-mile trek Sept. 19 at Live Oaks Park in Port Royal. Two weeks later, a second contingent joined the effort in the event’s South-of-the Broad walk beginning at Bluffton United Methodist Church.
The sister walks symbolize the burden millions of women and children in developing countries endure, traveling miles every day to collect water that’s often contaminated or in dangerous areas. Together, they promote awareness of the desperate need for access to safe water and raise money for Water Mission International, a nonprofit Christian engineering organization based in Charleston that builds sustainable, safe water solutions in developing countries and disaster areas.
Les Stokes of Beaufort participated in the Walk for the first time, alongside his wife, Jessica, and their two children, Ayla, 8, and Wren, 3. “We take the basics for granted in our lives every day,” he says. “I told my daughter, ‘You get up and walk to the kitchen for water, but other children have to walk miles for it.’ No one should not have access to water. It’s the source of life.”
Debbie Ball of Port Royal, another first-timer, volunteered as a “water-uber” driver, using her golf cart to help people who can’t manage the three-mile walk to still join their community in the effort. “I love this community and I wanted to be part of it,” she says. “People need clean, fresh water to survive. This saves lives.”
The record fundraising was especially impressive as the Walk’s 10th anniversary celebration included free registration for all participants, instead counting on sponsors and donors to fill the bucket. “The churches, businesses, community groups, walkers and other donors really stepped up this year to show their support for this vital cause,” Nan says.
Visit the Walk for Water website at walkforwater.com/beaufort to learn more about the Beaufort County Walk for Water. Follow Beaufort County Walk for Water on Facebook and Instagram @BeaufortWalkforWater, and on Twitter #bftwalkforwater.
Thank you, Beaufort County Walk for Water Sponsors!
Gold Sponsors
First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort
Carteret Street United Methodist Church
Church of the Palms
Silver Sponsors
Sea Island Presbyterian Church
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
Baptist Church of Beaufort
The Pickard Trust
Bronze Sponsors
Palmetto State Bank
Modern Jewelers
Walk Partners
Parish Church of Habersham
Lowcountry Presbyterian Church
St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church
Presbyterian Women of First Presbyterian Church
Bluffton United Methodist Church
Knights of Columbus
St. Luke’s Methodist Church
JH Hiers Construction
Lowcountry Cider Company
Alan Patterson Builders
Lowcountry Legacy Law Firm
A.W. Jewelry
Kalady Audiology
Eugene A. Rugala and Associates
Court Atkins Group
Gooding Contractors
BOSS Orthopaedics
Crowley Wechsler & Associates
Southern Tree Services
Optimal Health
Supporters
Beaufort Pediatrics
Bishop Eye Center
Durham Dental
In-Kind Partners
Acoustic Bridge
Grounded Running
Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine
Lowcountry Weekly/The Island News
Capitol Coffee
Paul Nurnberg Photography
Town of Port Royal
SK Signs
Wardle Family YMCA
A.C. Harvey’s Screenprinting
About Water Mission
Since 2001, Water Mission has used innovative technology and engineering expertise to provide access to safe water for more than eight million people in 60 countries, including our neighbors in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene two years ago. Water Mission has 400 staff members working around the world in permanent country programs located in Africa, Asia, North, South and Central America, and the Caribbean. Charity Navigator has awarded Water Mission its top four-star rating nearly two decades in a row, a distinction shared by less than 1% of the charities rated by the organization. Learn more at watermission.org.
