Inspired by David Foster Wallace’s This Is Water and feeling aware of the abundance of clean drinking water on his college campus, Refat decided he wanted to do something — both to raise money and to bring a voice to the water crisis.
Not only did he create a fundraising campaign, he also started performing slam poetry at open mic nights to spread the word. And it’s working. Today, his campaign is over halfway to his goal.
But Refat stresses that it isn’t about the money; it’s about awareness and making human connections in the process.
“People forget why we have to donate,” Refat says. “That this money is someone’s life.”
Refat knows that just educating his friends and family about the water crisis can have a huge impact. People from all different parts of his life have reached out to help – including a high school teacher and friends he hasn’t seen or talked to in years!
“I have no regrets about it,” Refat told us. “This campaign has showed me how beautiful humans can be.”
Refat, we think you’re incredibly inspiring. We love your message, and we love your campaign. Thank you for supporting charity: water!
Ryan first learned about charity: water after following Instagrammers that were sharing our organization’s mission along with their charity: water campaigns (I love how community grows both organically and digitally — here’s to you, Internet!). He was inspired by our message and our model and boldly decided to take his first step in combating the water crisis by using his 21st birthday to fundraise for clean water.
His campaign concept? A personified Jerry Can.
Ryan is currently advertising his 21st birthday campaign on Instagram (@ryanjaydee) and wants to bring this symbol of the Jerry Can to life. In his words, “If you don’t already know, the Jerry Can is the symbol of charity: water because it represents the people in developing countries that have to carry containers to store their drinking water. When filled up it weighs about 40 pounds. It’s a part of these millions of people’s lives because they have to carry it for long distances to get water for their families. charity: water describes it as a “hope to change” and I completely agree with that. That’s why I want to personify this Jerry can and make people aware of the this problem!“
Ryan, happy 21st birthday! We celebrate you, and we thank you for the impact you’re making in this world.
When I stared working at charity: water three years ago, the adjective I would’ve used to describe gaming would not have been “philanthropic.”
The U-Pick Video Game Marathon is a perfect example of how wrong I was.
These guys and girls have now run THREE campaigns for charity: water and raised more than $8,000 for clean water projects. Not only that, but they’ve done it by having fun.
The U-Pick team gives people the option to choose games for them to play by making a donation to clean water. Then they play the most popular video games for 48 hours … straight! And they broadcast the entire thing (which you can watch live from June 12th at 8PM EST through June 14th at 8PM here: http://www.upickvg.com/watch-now).
The dedication this crew has to bringing clean water to people in developing countries leaves me speechless (which isn’t easy). I cannot wait to watch them beat their $5,000 goal this month!
Sarah Williams has dreamed about summiting Mt. Whitney her whole life. Next Monday, that dream is about to become a reality. And she’s dedicating the entire 210.4-mile trek along the John Muir Trail to charity: water!
After recently learning that access to water is not ubiquitous, Sarah decided to make the purpose of her hike two-fold and try to bring clean water to 100 people in need.
She’s currently training for the 22-day excursion by venturing out on 2-3 day backpacking trips and taking weekly 15-mile hikes with the weight of the backpack she’ll be carrying.
The neatest part of Sarah’s campaign is that she’ll have a SPOT device on the trail, and she’s giving all of her supporters a link so they can track her exact location during the hike!
Sarah, we’re so thrilled to see you represent us through the 210.4 miles, and we couldn’t be more proud to see our shirt at 46,700 feet. Safe travels!
When you chat with Savannah (even if it’s solely via email), you can’t help but feel drawn to her spark and fiery spirit for our mission. It should come as no surprise that this isn’t her first charity: water campaign.
When we talked about her strategy this time around, she shared some insights from her prior fundraising. Two years ago, when she gave up 22nd birthday, Savannah realized the single most important thing was to thank her donors — and to thank them profusely. Without their generosity, the work wasn’t possible.
Coupled with her mom’s tradition of sending everyone thank you notes, Savannah was inspired to illustrate three lessons she learned in her 23rd year and lay them over photos she took on a recent trip. She then printed them into beautiful custom postcards to write heartfelt notes for each donation made to her campaign.
Savannah mentioned to me that a birthday campaign is “the easiest way to open people’s eyes to the world around them, including the water crisis… and be a part of something much greater than themselves.” I couldn’t agree more.
We’ve already received a handful of postcards at our office, and you can get yours too. Go be part of something greater than yourself and donate to Savannah’s 24th birthday campaign!
Two years ago, I started working with an incredible charity: water supporter named Siobhan and her husband, Terry, on an epic fundraising campaign for Nepal.
Siobhan was setting out to climb Mt. Everest and she wanted to change the lives of people in Nepal while doing it.
I worked with the couple for months, and every email they sent inspired me more than the last. All told, they raised more than $107,000 for clean water projects in Nepal. That is a rare and incredible feat. But now, I’ve come to realize, that’s typical for these two.
In April of 2013, Siobhan started her journey to summit Mt. Everest.
She made it to Basecamp and then noticed swelling in her right arm. She saw an on-site doctor, who recommended she head home. The news was heartbreaking. She’d trained for months and flown thousands of miles, only to be told to turn back.
Disappointed, she boarded a plane back to San Francisco. But during her layover in Hong Kong, she changed her mind. She decided to turn around and give it another go.
Siobhan flew back to Kathmandu, trekked back to Everest, and made it to an elevation of about 24,500 feet. Yet so close to her goal, due to High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (which can be deadly), she had to turn back again.
Still, this amazing woman didn’t head home and say, “Well, at least I tried.” Instead, she promised she would go back another year.
Right now, Siobhan is running another clean water campaign. This one is called “Everest Again.”
Yes, Siobhan is back on Mt. Everest. This time, she was prepared. She was ready to crush that mountain, climb her heart out, and stand atop the world. But in 40 seconds last Saturday, everything changed.
On April 25, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, it shook the world’s highest peak. Siobhan was on Mt. Everest at the time, climbing a ladder at the Khumbu Icefall. Thankfully, she was uninjured and managed to reach Camp 1 along with four other climbers. But the quake triggered avalanches, cutting Basecamp off from the higher parts of the peak.
For two and a half days, Siobhan and her fellow climbers remained stranded.
On Monday, she finally made it back to Basecamp. By Friday, she’d been taken safely to Kathmandu. Soon, she’ll be heading back to the States.
This isn’t a story about standing on top of the world. This is a story about changing the world.
Siobhan might not be summiting Mt. Everest this year, but I know this won’t be the end of her story.
Even through everything that’s happened since the earthquake, Siobhan has raised more than $20,000 for clean water this year.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Siobhan’s husband, Terry, all week. Throughout uncertainty and fear, he’s kept me and the charity: water team in the loop, as we waited anxiously for Siobhan reach safety. It’s something I will forever be grateful for.
No matter what Siobhan’s future holds, here at charity: water, we’ll be watching. Her hard work and dedication has brought clean water to hundred of people. Her fundraising efforts have changed hundreds of lives.
charity: water supporters are incredible.
They’re the reason I get up in the morning and skip to work. They’re the reason I believe that one person has the power to change the world. They make me a better person.
At times, they even put their lives on the line, because they believe the same thing we do: They believe every person on the planet should have clean and safe drinking water, and that the craziest thing we can do to help is nothing.
This past weekend, an incredible group of students from Alpha Kappa Psi at Miami University (in Ohio!) hosted their own version of The Amazing Race in support of charity: water. And they crushed it!
They put together a campus-wide event where teams of four could sign up to race throughout campus and compete in challenges — and rallied a massive student community on behalf of a community on the other side of the globe.
According to Mickey, VP of Philanthropy of Alpha Kappa Psi, the fraternity registered more runners (128 racers signed up) than any pledge project before them. And judging by the promo video below, I would imagine they also had a ton of fun.
In the end, Alpha Kappa Psi raised more than $1,700 for clean water. Which is amazing. Thank you for all your hard work and creativity! We can’t wait to share with you the impact you’ve made.
Ashley is a Chicago transplant, a junior in college studying English and Philosophy, a committed vegetarian and a fabulously creative charity: water campaigner.
We first came across her story after a friend re-tweeted a video Ashley made to share her campaign with Taylor Swift (they look alike, no?!). After chatting and learning about her passion for clean water, we brainstormed some possible incentives for her 21st birthday campaign. Now, she’s offering to cover pop songs, write poems and even eat meat if she raises enough money.
We love that passion, and we’re rooting for you, Ashley! Oh, and can we get a song too?
Nathaniel has been a long-time charity: water supporter (he’s campaigned for us since 2010!), but he really caught our attention with a phone-call late last year… after a local mall gave him the change from their fountain.
Nathaniel wanted to know if he could re-donate the $300+ to another kid’s campaign. Turns out he felt inspired to give because of an experience he had during one of his birthday campaigns where a stranger donated $100 to him. He wanted to encourage another kid just as he had been encouraged.
Amazing, right? That’s Nathaniel.
Which brings us to last weekend… Nathaniel organized a 3-on-3 soccer tournament at his local sports complex for middle-school boys and girls to raise money for charity: water.
We actually took a group down to Maryland for the day to cheer him on and got to see him in action.
He ran the show with a clipboard in hand throughout the entire event. And not only did he put together an exciting tournament, but he also organized a silent auction that blew his original $1,800 goal out of the park. At the end of the day, Nathaniel raised $6,182… enough to bring clean water to 206 people.
It goes without saying that we’re huge fans of yours, Nathaniel. And we can’t wait to see your next move in making this world a better place.
Jennifer Renton isn’t a stranger to fundraising for charity: water. In the past few years, she’s run three campaigns(!) and brought clean water to hundreds of people in Ethiopia, Mozambique and India.
But this year she’s going even bigger.
Not only is Jennifer giving up her birthday… she’s also repurposing coffee sacks into beautiful tote bags to raise money for clean water. 100% of the profits from the bags (which come from Africa, South and Central America) go to her campaign, and as a result, she’s already crushing her $5,000 goal.
“I hope by helping to provide clean water, girls and mothers have more time for important activities like going to school and caring for their families. Water is one of our most basic needs and it’s hard to believe that so many people do not have access to clean water. Sometimes I feel like my contribution is so small that it doesn’t matter, but all that fades away when I see the wells and happy faces. It’s just a drop in the bucket but at least it’s a drop.“
Thank you for your inspiration, support and creativity, Jennifer. And thank you for making this world both brighter and sweeter!
This past September, Ruthy created her second birthday campaign for charity: water with a challenge… to walk 20,000 steps every day for a month.
After a friend gifted her a Fitbit, she decided that it was crazy NOT TO to walk 10 miles each day to help raise money for clean water. So she began counting her steps.
She told us that there were definitely days when it was tough, but the encouragement she received (from her 4-year old nephew to her 96-year old grandmother) pushed her to keep the eye on the prize: clean and safe drinking water for 100 people in need.
We’ve had the privilege of getting to know Ruthy as a volunteer, fundraiser, and friend of the organization, and we’re so grateful for her.
Ruthy, thank you partnering with us and believing in our mission!
