charity: water

campaign: Notes to New York
campaign goal: $5,000
has been fundraising since: April 13, 2012
mission statement: “I’m biking across the country to help raise money for clean water projects around the world. Please join me and contribute in any way that you can.”

Mail used to arrive on the pony express — now, Jon and his friend Brian will be hand delivering notes to New York by bike! Why the step back to the old days? They’re raising funds for clean water projects. We’ve been following their progress and asked Jon how things have been going.

What have been your biggest challenges and encouragement so far?
I think it has been hard to keep up the momentum of our initial success from our first push as the campaign goes on. Most of the low hanging fruit has been picked in terms of donors, so the fundraising is moving more slowly now.

The biggest encouragement so far has been the huge amount of support we have received from so many different people through donations, reaching out to their own networks, and welcoming us into their homes.

What kind of training did you go through before heading out?
I had been preparing for the trip for just under a year, planning the route and supplies, and riding smaller multi-day tours out west. None of this truly prepared me for the rigorous riding day in and day out. The first two weeks had us climbing a mountain pass just about every day through the Cascades and Rockies. Needless to say I’m in great shape now.

Describe a typical day for you.
Usually we wake up around six, eat a quick breakfast and break camp. Typically we take a break every few hours to rest and eat. Once a day we try to find a diner along the road to load up on calories and talk to locals. We also like to finish the day off with a cold one if we find a dive bar somewhere near our camp. Usually we’ll stop by a grocery store to grab stuff to cook for dinner. By nine or so we are reading in the tent, ready for sleep. We pedal a lot too!

If someone wanted to start a campaign but needed some help, what would you tell them?
My advice would be to dream big and do something you are passionate about. There are a lot of people out there doing amazing things. I would encourage them to find a way to make it bigger than themselves and ascribe a cause or larger goal of a community to what they already love to do.

Do you feel like you’ve learned something through the campaign?
I’ve learned a lot and am still learning. I set out on this trip to break out of the nine to five mold I had been living in. It has been quite an experience. Now I just have to figure out how to pay my bills again when this is all over.

Throughout the trip, I have become very aware of how lucky we are to have the water resources and infrastructure that we do in this country. Having traveled over 2000 miles thus far, we have been very lucky to drink local water without any great fear of contamination. We so easily take for granted this luxury. I hope that through organizations such as charity: water this can become a reality for more and more people.

Jon and Brian will be displaying the notes at The Emerson in Brooklyn when they arrive in New York on July 28. The event will start around 7pm and there will be drink specials, a live DJ, and a “bring your own” meat grill in the back. All are welcome! If you’re in the city, feel free to stop by!

Bike across the country, bake bread, give up your birthday — you can do just about anything to raise funds for clean water! Learn more here >

campaign: Climb for Clean Water
campaign goal: $10,000
has been fundraising since: March 22, 2012
mission statement: “As some of you know, I’m going to be climbing Mt. Rainier in mid-September… all 14,411 feet of it. Frankly, I’m not a good climber, I hate the cold, and this possibly takes the cake in a long line of poor decisions (see: marathons). It’s going to be extremely challenging just to get into shape to climb this beast, but I’m determined to do this to help raise money for an outstanding charity called charity: water.”

When did you first hear about the water crisis?
I’ve been interested in the water crisis, and more specifically the commodification/privatization of water resources, for a couple of years now. My interest was piqued after attending a seminar by Doctors Without Borders where they discussed water and sanitation logisticians as one of the fields they were recruiting for. The idea of tying together clean water and crisis management was really appealing to me, so I started doing some research on the delivery of clean water. I stumbled upon a Wall Street Journal article about how nonprofits were trying to fund themselves, and charity: water was mentioned. I was floored by the fact that 100% of public donations went to water projects.

How’d you end up choosing Mt. Rainier?
A friend of mine just asked me one day if I wanted to join her and some friends on this excursion, and I pretty much said yes without having any idea of what I was getting myself into. After committing to go, I decided to look up some details about Mt. Rainier, and that’s when I learned that it’s over 14,000 feet in elevation, it’s the most glaciated mountain in the lower 48 states, fewer than half of the 10,000 people who try to climb it each year succeed, and that it’s really cold at the top.

In addition to freaking out (six months of recommended training?!), I thought that this might be a good way to raise some funds for charity: water. Most people I know think that climbing Rainier is either crazy or just plain stupid, but who doesn’t like to contribute to those sorts of adventures — especially when it’s for a great cause.

So, you’re not really into climbing… how are you preparing?
Yeah, so the extent of my hiking experience is fairly limited. I spent a few days hiking around in Patagonia by myself in late 2010, but to give you an idea of my “experience,” I spent several days in a small Argentinean town in a hotel before I went out hiking, and I practiced putting up my tent every day in my hotel room for five days. That should tell you all you need to know. Luckily, there has been a fair bit written about climbing Rainier, so I’ve got some good training guides. The training involves a lot of aerobic work, and lots of work on your legs (lunges, squats, stairmaster, etc.) and core. I recently did some hiking while I was in Norway. As much fun as that was, it also showed me that I have a lot of serious training to do in the next three months!

Who’s climbing with you?
I’m climbing with my friend Gabrielle, her sister Danielle, and Danielle’s boyfriend Morgan. Gabrielle and I will be roped up together with a guide for the hike. I will not hesitate to cut her loose if she lags behind.

What’s really impacted you through this experience?
People have been incredibly generous with their donations, good wishes, and I’ve gotten advice from people who have done this sort of thing before, so the support has been amazing. Additionally, I’m hoping the campaign raises more awareness of the water crisis and gets more people involved in supporting charity: water. I’m looking forward to the challenge of climbing Rainier.

Any advice for people looking to start a campaign of their own?
The bolder the task you set out for yourself, the more of a response you will get. Also, it’s about doing something that you’re hopefully interested in or passionate about, so don’t be shy!

Want to start a campaign like this? Climb a mountain, sell T-shirts, make cookies — you can do just about anything to fundraise for clean water! Learn more here >

campaign: Whiskers for Water
campaign goal:$5,000
has been fundraising since: March 23, 2012
mission statement: “It’s that time again — time to celebrate Cinco De Moustache! That sacred day when men around the country grow their face fuzz just because they can. But this year, our celebration will be a little different. We’re going to harness the power of the beard for good. Incredible good.”

How did you first hear about the water crisis?
My interest in the water crisis started about five years ago when my pastor spoke about it at church. Thankfully, he used enthusiasm and hope instead of guilt to motivate us. That hope of seeing every child with access to clean water has stayed with me. I realize now that guilt is really good at motivating for the short-term, but hope generates a lifetime of motivation.

I heard about charity: water when Jon Acuff, author of “Stuff Christians Like” and “Quitter,” mentioned Scott Harrison’s work. I was impressed with the efforts charity: water has made to eliminate all reasons for not giving, [such as] GPS coordinates and the 100% model.

What was the inspiration behind this campaign?
Every year since college, my friends and I have grown out beards and shaved them into moustaches on May 5th. This year, a friend of mine, Chris Jordan, suggested we do some sort of bidding around Cinco De Moustache to raise money for a charity. The idea was this: put your head on the chopping block (literally) and let others bid on what your shave your face into. I loved it. Being a huge fan of charity: water, I suggested we give the money to them.

Bobby Nation donated his beard which was shaved into the “Friendly Mutton Chops.” Chris Meadows tore his shirt to emulate Hulk Hogan after his likeness was shaved. Randy Doyle sported the “Napolean Imperial” with cornrows, Michael Williams donned the “Captain Jack Sparrow,” and Jeremy Adams had the “French Fork.” At the last minute, we had Craig Musser donate his head to the cause. The winning donation for him was the “Friar Cut.” Chris Jordan was the first to donate his beard and hair to become the “Checkerboard,” and my brother and I were voted to both be the “Two-Face.”

How long did you have to grow your beards and moustaches out?
We began growing our beards around February. Some of us trimmed a bit along the way, but most of us kept the facial hair going as long as we could. We wanted to have as much to work with as possible.

What was fundraising like?
Fundraising was a lot of fun. We didn’t take ourselves too seriously, and I think that helped everyone have a good time along the way. The beards generated a lot of buzz as people kept asking “When are you shaving those things off?” It was pretty ridiculous seeing all these guys with massive beards every day at work. Vertafore, where we all work, looked more like a lumberjack yard than a software company. When it came time to give, the generous people at work did so cheerfully. We even had our boss Niel Snowden shave the back of his head into a company design to generate more money.

What was your favorite design?
The Monkeytail. Without a doubt.

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to start a campaign?
The water crisis is a very serious topic — but your campaign doesn’t have to be. Humor and hope motivate far better than guilt and shame. Start a campaign and have fun with it! Leverage whatever talents you have. If beards can be used, surely painting, singing or playing basketball could raise money. Also, the power of social media is incredible. Share it on Facebook, Twitter, email or YouTube. I think you’d be surprised how supportive your friends and coworkers will be.

Shave your facial hair in a funky design, kayak down a river, bake bread — you can do just about anything to fundraise for clean water! Get started here >

campaign: Georgia Spartan Sprint
campaign goal:$5,000
has been fundraising since: April 18, 2012
mission statement: “On March 10th, 2012 we will be running Spartan Sprint in Georgia which is a 4 mile run full of military style obstacles. Sounds rough right? Well, imagine doing all of that without clean water… While the ATL Heroes love doing recreational activities, we wanted to use this opportunity to bless others. Our mission is to raise $5,000 for water. We want every step to matter.”

There are many obstacles that people run into while raising money to provide clean water — but this group of guys chose to deal with even more obstacles than most people might encounter. Tom Chon and friends Chris, Henry, Barney and Ben ran the Spartan Sprint in March. They climbed, ran, crawled and threw… all for clean water! Tom shared with us about their experience:

What inspired you and the team to join the race?
My inspiration for signing up for the race was two fold. One, I really enjoy doing obstacle races like Spartan Race and pushing myself. Two, there has been this mantra that I’ve been learning from a church retreat which is: “Blessed to be a blessing to others.” So I wanted to hit two birds with one stone: run an obstacle race and use this to bless others. And I was trying to get people involved with it.

Did you encounter challenges during the campaign that you may not have expected?
The hardest and easiest part of the campaign was the fundraising. It was hard to try to educate people on why they should care about charity: water and try to convince them… but at the same time there were people who totally got it and would donate a single, large sum. So that was encouraging.

Another hard part was trying to motivate the team to continue to fund raise. Our initial goal was to raise $5K so that we could at least bless one village with a well and we didn’t reach our goal. We are going to run another race and hopefully raise enough money to accomplish it.

What do you feel was an important lesson you learned through this campaign?
One of the biggest lessons I learned was that fundraising is not as easy as it looks (well, for some people). I realized we have to do more than just send an email. Follow up with them, don’t be afraid to ask people, and use all types of media to help fundraise like Twitter and Youtube. Be creative.

Challenge yourself by running an obstacle race, start a club on campus or bake cookies — you can do just about anything to raise funds for clean water! Learn more here >

campaign: Susquehanna University charity: ball 2012
campaign goal:$5,000
has been fundraising since: April 18, 2012
mission statement: “The first annual Susquehanna University charity: ball, taking place in Evert Dining Hall on April 14th, 2012 at 9pm. Tickets are $20 each and for every ticket sold, one person will get clean water in a developing nation for 20 years.”

Susquehanna University student Brian Maehl is making clean water a top priority while also juggling his studies and activities. Brian started up a charity: water club on campus that fundraises for clean water. This month, the club hosted their own charity: ball. We talked with Brian to hear his thoughts on their mission:

Tell us about the big event — the Susquehanna University charity: ball:
Over 150 people attended the ball, which featured charity: water exhibits, dancing, dessert, a photo-shoot, and a WaterWalk. As of now, we have raised over $3,000! We are also awaiting a sponsorship through a club member connection that will increase our total even more.

One of our exhibits was similar to the Rachel Beckwith exhibit at the NYC charity: ball to honor Rachel and to share her story with Susquehanna. For another exhibit, we were very limited with our options and had to get creative. We filled an aquarium with water and sold glow sticks to guests, with each color glow stick representing a different dollar amount. The guests would put the glow stick in the tank to symbolize their donation to charity: water. We had a few laptops on hand for those that wanted to make donations of more than $20 to the ball campaign.

The WaterWalk got over 250 walks throughout the course of the night, and for every walk, $1 was donated from an outside sponsor to charity: water. Groups of students and faculty members cheered each other on to complete the walks. Whenever the walks hit a monumental amount (50, 100, etc.) a club member would tell the DJ and an announcement would be made all guests.

We also had a slide show running on a large projector screen at the front of the room that showed photos from people in developing nations and shared ways to become involved.

One of the biggest attention-getters of the evening was the photobooth that was run by our amazing event photographer, Tierney Ayers of Tierney Cyanne Photography. Students had an absolute blast taking photos in different poses with the Jerry cans. The photos are still swarming all around Facebook and social media sites, raising awareness for countless people that have viewed the photos and our club Facebook page. We even had our Dean of Students, Student Activities Coordinator, Associate Director of Admissions, and Assistant Director of Residence Life for Student Conduct take photos with Jerry cans!