Clean Water Car Wash staff take a quick break from cleaning cars to celebrate raising over $7,000 for Water For Good. (From left) Brian Catron, CEO; Jordan Gillette, operations manager; Travis Jones, assistant operations manager; Ben Gifford, sales attendant.

WARSAW — Thanks to the those who visited Clean Water Car Wash Wednesday, Jan. 27, approximately 1,435 people will be able to access clean, reliable drinking water.[*** ERROR: Weaver X-Plus Shortcoder undefined id: 'surveybegin' *** ]

Though many wouldn’t just give away their opening day sales, CEO Brian Catron wanted to use the event to give back to a cause near and dear to many local hearts. Clean Water Car Wash donated 100 percent of its opening day sales to Water For Good, a Warsaw-based not-for-profit dedicated to solving the water crisis in the Central African Republic.

Coupling his passion for creating a car wash that would offer “the best wash you’ve ever had” with giving back to others, Catron, along with manager Jordan Gillette, washed a total of 584 cars on Wednesday — totaling over $7,000 raised for Water For Good.

Coupling his passion for creating a car wash that would offer “the best wash you’ve ever had” with giving back to others, Catron, along with manager Jordan Gillette, washed a total of 584 cars on Wednesday

According to Jay Hocking, director of communications and son of founder Jim Hocking, if each car was lined up bumper-to-bumper that attended the benefit, the line would span 2 miles long. Hocking noted these cars have eliminated over 100,000 miles of walking for the people of Central Africa.

If you missed your chance to give back to a good cause while getting your car cleaned, never fear. Catron noted the car wash will soon feature a local organization — Fellowship Missions. For every car washed on Friday, March 11, the car was will give $1 to Fellowship Missions.

If you can’t wait to wash your car until March, Catron stated the car wash will also be giving a portion of its first year profit to Water For Good at the end of the year. From a general wash to higher quality premium washes and waxes, the car wash offers numerous options for drivers. Catron noted the wash even offers free vacuums as an added gesture of thanks for visiting its location.

Water for Good, established in 2004 by Warsaw local Jim Hocking, is the largest water organization in the Central African Republic and provides reliable access to clean water for half a million people. Their well-drilling and water pump maintenance teams have continued to operate, despite the fact that the country has been a conflict zone since 2013.

Within 10 years of operation, the company drilled over 590 wells and has serviced over 900 wells. Hocking noted the time saved walking for water has allowed for communities to begin to flourish, with commerce, education and safety increased tremendously. In one village, Hocking stated money raised by residents through pumping water allowed them to maintain their well as well as build a school and hire a teacher.[*** ERROR: Weaver X-Plus Shortcoder undefined id: 'surveyend' *** ]