What does a clean water villain look like? If you ask Uniondale School District elementary students, they can show you.
More than 600 local students in grades Kindergarten through 5th. They recently participated in a Long Island district-wide contest to design the next villain for the “Dewey, the Clean Water Superhero” comic book.
To participate, students were asked to draw a character who threatens clean water and write a brief 50-word explanation about why “Dewey” (a drop of water passionate about clean water) should defeat him.
Multipure, a trusted leader in the water filtration industry, and the “Dewey” mascot, personally visited 3 area schools to surprise the top winners of the unique contest with giant checks to fund their schools.
The first-place villain creation will appear in the next issue of the comic, which is distributed free to families online and at community events.
In this way, students turned environmental awareness into school funds thanks to Multipure’s creative contest.
The winners
Multipure, creator of the comic series “Dewey, The Clean Water Superhero,” in collaboration with the organization h2ocleanse, announces the winners of its art and writing contest for students in grades K-5 of the Uniondale School District.
More than 600 proposals were received, demonstrating incredible imagination. Entries were carefully judged based on creativity, narrative, and how effectively students communicated real-world water issues.
– 1st. place: $150
Inaaya H. – 4th grade, from California Avenue School, in Uniondale
Villain Name: Brushly – Makes water undrinkable by rinsing paint-dirty brushes in the sink.
– 2nd. place: $100
Ariella G. – 3rd. degree, from California Avenue School, in Uniondale
Villain Name: Gourdy – Plant-like creature that traps its victims with vines and detonates bombs in the water.
– 3rd. place: $50
Bryanna P. – 5th grade, Grand Avenue School
Villain Name: Savanna the Sea Destroyer – Poisons bodies of water.
– Classroom with the largest number of participants:
California Avenue School – Mrs. Akiko Hanratty.
Prize: $300 + a “Hydration Party” organized by Multipure, where Dewey will demonstrate the importance of water and give out surprise gifts.
– Schools with the highest number of participations:
1st. location: California Avenue School (400 entries) – $1,700
2nd. location: Grand Avenue School (154 entries) – $1,500
3rd. location: Walnut Street School (49 entries) – $1,200
Multipure representatives, along with “Dewey”—the clean water mascot and superhero—personally presented award checks to top participating schools during the month of June.
“We are thrilled that Multipure has hosted this contest, providing the Uniondale School District with a wonderful opportunity to raise critical funds for their schools,” stated Heather A. Kollar, Managing Partner of h2ocleanse, LLC.
“We are deeply grateful to the principals and teachers who helped spread the word about the initiative and, of course, to the students who dedicated so much time and creativity to creating villains who pose real threats to our water supply.”
The winner’s creation will appear in the next installment, in which “Dewey” will fight to keep the water safe.
In the latest issue, the temporary plastic solutions of a flashy hero—known as “The Plastic Pretender”—decompose and leak into the water supply, giving rise to a new villain called Microplastic.
To save the city’s water, “Dewey” must go beyond brute force and stop pollution at its source.
All of Dewey’s Adventures are available online for free at: https://www.multipure.com/dewey.
“At Multipure, we believe that inspiring the next generation to think about clean water is vital to our future,” said Zachary Rice, president of Multipure.
“This is our second contest targeting local students, and we continue to be greatly amazed by their imagination and the creative ways they approach real-world environmental problems.”
Notably, Multipure is committed to setting the highest standards of water quality, providing drinking water systems, filters and purifiers for residential and commercial use worldwide.
Since 1970, Multipure has led the global market by holding the most NSF and Water Quality Association certifications to reduce and eliminate the broadest range of contaminants that can affect both the taste and healthiness of water.
