Thousands of restaurants across the country will participate in the UNICEF Tap Project during World Water Week March 21-27, and UAB School of Public Health students are leading the charge locally.

“H20 for Haiti: The Birmingham Tap Project” is asking Birmingham-area restaurant patrons who drink water with their meals to donate $1 or more during the weeklong event.

Dining in one of the participating area restaurants — and donating $1 for the tap water you would normally receive for free — will help UNICEF provide lifesaving water and sanitation to children around the world.

Birmingham-area restaurants recruited to participate thus far include: Bottletree Café, Cafe Lazio (Hoover), Cafe de Paris, Crestwood Tavern, Del Sol (Springville), Petruccelli's Italian Eatery, Rojo, Silver Coin Indian Grill, T Bones (Centerpoint) and Urban Standard. More restaurants are expected to join the project. Visit www.tapproject.org for a complete list of Birmingham area restaurants that are participating.

The Tap Project is a UNICEF endeavor to improve water and sanitation projects around the world. Volunteer groups around the country encourage local restaurants to ask their customers who drink water in lieu of soft drinks and tea to donate $1 or more to raise money for countries where clean and plentiful drinking water is scarce or non-existent.

A portion of the funds raised this year will go to support UNICEF’s water, sanitation and hygiene programs in Haiti, the Central African Republic, Guatemala, Togo and Vietnam. A donation of $1 provides a child with clean drinking water for 40 days.

Birmingham area restaurant patrons donated $3,570 in 2009 — enough money to provide 142,800 days of clean drinking water. Nationwide, almost $819,223 was raised.

Visit www.tapproject.org for more information or contact Meg Davis at megdavis@uab.edu.