Nearly 30 restaurants will celebrate the UNICEF Tap Project during World Water Week, from March 20-26.

City coordinators are also hosting a Walk for Water to kick off the UNICEF Tap Project. The walk will take place on the Girls Preparatory School track March 19, from 9-11 a.m.

The UNICEF Tap Project is a campaign to provide clean water to children around the world, and invites restaurant patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free.

Now in its fifth year, the award-winning UNICEF Tap Project, a nationwide campaign from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, will return during World Water Week, March 20-26.

The first program of its kind, the UNICEF Tap Project has become a national movement that affords anyone the opportunity to help provide the world’s children access to safe, clean water.

Through numerous fundraising and volunteer activities, the UNICEF Tap Project celebrates the clean water we enjoy on daily basis by giving its celebrity, restaurant, volunteer, corporate, and government supporters the opportunity to give water back to the children around the world via the theme “When You Take Water Give Water.”

During World Water Week, restaurants across the United States will encourage patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free. Participating restaurants will once again receive a toolkit containing materials which include all the resources necessary to execute the UNICEF Tap Project by engaging customers to support UNICEF water programs by adding a donation of $1 or more per person to their bill.

In 2010 alone, nearly 1,000 restaurants and more than 4,200 volunteers from all 50 states participated in the national campaign, making it the largest volunteer mobilization effort for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

UNICEF Tap Project Volunteers will be supporting efforts by conducting local fundraising events and activities. Thousands of restaurants, dining patrons, students and volunteers, along with corporate, community, celebrity and governments supporters have made the UNICEF Tap Project a powerful national movement.

All funds raised will support UNICEF's water, sanitation and hygiene programs, and the effort to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world. Countries slated to receive 2011 funding include Viet Nam, Togo and Central African Republic.

For the fourth consecutive year, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is providing funding to support the UNICEF Tap Project volunteer program, which includes recruitment, training, resources and support to thousands of volunteers who will lead on-the-ground efforts for the UNICEF Tap Project in their local communities.

Founding agency partner Droga5 and MediaVest will support the initiative once again creating a high profile, pro-bono ad campaign that will place the UNICEF Tap Project in various mediums throughout the nation leading up to and during World Water Week.

The UNICEF Tap Project will also have the support of returning supporters from online dining sites ZAGAT.com OpenTable.com, SeamlessWeb.com, and Yelp.com.

Since its inception in 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project has raised nearly $2.5 million in the U.S. and has helped to provide clean water to millions of children around the world. UNICEF works in more than 150 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, and to promote safe hygiene practices.

Over the past 16 years, more than a billion people gained access to improved drinking water and sanitation facilities thanks to UNICEF’s efforts.