updates

March 16, 2012
tweet this

You funded a drilling rig… and now, it’s going to work!

2 comments
| comment here
sept

In September 2011, we asked you to help fund charity: water’s first drilling rig to bring clean water to 40,000 new people every year in rural Ethiopia. More than 1,400 mycharity: water fundraisers and donors answered in a big way, raising more than $1.2 million for a brand new drilling rig fleet.

By now, you probably know we’re big on showing impact. From proving every completed water project with photos and GPS to sharing stories from people you’ve helped get clean water to drink — we want you to see how you’ve changed lives.

And today… we have exciting news! We were expecting to drill the first well with the new rig in May of this year. But Founder Scott Harrison was just in Ethiopia and… the first drilling rig arrived early!

Take a look at how your support is already helping bring life’s most basic need to people in Ethiopia:

We’re so grateful for your support of our work, our partners’ work, and our mission to end the water crisis. Thank you, September Campaign supporters! And stay tuned: as promised, we’re getting the GPS device set up in this rig soon so you can track its progress from village to village.

Learn more about September Campaign 2011 here >

Categories:

March 8, 2012
tweet this

Recognizing women in the water crisis.

5 comments
| comment here

Today is International Women’s Day. We’re taking a minute to celebrate some of the women of this past year — specifically, some amazing daughters, mothers and grandmothers we met in November 2011 while traveling in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.

Almost a billion people in the world live without clean water. We call that the water crisis. And while we know many of these are men, the water crisis takes a significant toll on women of the world. Women are twice as likely as men to collect water for their families each day. Many in Sub-Saharan Africa walk up to four hours each day to get water that’s likely to make them sick when they get it home to drink.

Today, we hope you join us in recognizing the women of this world who bear this burden, who get up early or stay out dangerously late, who haul forty pounds of water weight in a Jerry can strapped to their backs… who strive for and hope for their children’s health, who put their families first. We’re lucky enough to have met some when we travel to the field. Their stories continue to shock us, inspire us and keep us working to bring clean water to every person on the planet.

photos: Mo Scarpelli / charity: water
womens day

Women we met in Baskura, Ethiopia, in November:

This video was made for the Rockstar Cavemen, the sponsors of this new freshwater well.

Stories of amazing women and girls in the past year:

jerry can
- Khadija from Bangladesh: Clean water and toilets brought her back to school.
- Mintamir from rural Ethiopia: She used to wish for clean water to wash each day like the city girls… her wish came true. “I am just like them now.”
- Poppy from Bangladesh: Not much is clean or accessible for the disabled in Pora Bosti slum… but Poppy’s new toilets are.
- Whitney from the U.S.: She ran coast-to-coast to raise funds and awareness for clean water.

Have more stories to share about amazing women? Leave us a comment with a link or a personal story. Happy Women’s Day!

Categories:

February 10, 2012
tweet this

A toast to our amazing charity: ball 2011 volunteers.

2 comments
| comment here

At charity: ball 2011, we raised more than $2.7 million to support our work. We couldn’t have done it without our amazing volunteers.

Some spent days at our office, organizing materials and hand-writing notes for exhibitions. Others showed up in the early morning hours of the day of the event to meticulously align Jerry cans around the 69th Regiment Armory space. And even more worked the actual gala event, checking in thousands of guests at the front door, handling the coat check madness like champions, serving food and drinks with a smile, selling light bulbs for clean water or answering questions from guests about our work.

For all their efforts helping us throw a party, we knew our volunteers deserved their own! So on Tuesday night, we filled the Soho Grand Club Room with staff and volunteers to share stories about charity: ball 2011 and express our gratitude for their hard work. Thanks to everyone who made it out. We can’t wait to work with you again in 2012!

photos: Mo Scarpelli/charity: water

volunteer party

See more from charity: ball 2011 here >

Categories:

February 7, 2012
tweet this

charity: ball 2011 video recap.

2 comments
| comment here

We just finished up the video of our biggest event ever, charity: ball 2011 — take a look!

In one night, we raised more than $2.7 million to support our work. Thanks again to all our amazing sponsors, volunteers and guests for making the evening unforgettable.

Shot by: Brandon Smith, Chetan Patel, Karen Yaeger
Edited/produced by: Mo Scarpelli/charity: water
Music by: Planet Mars beats

Categories:

January 1, 2012
tweet this

Celebrating 2011.

1 comment
| comment here

We had an incredible year, doubling our growth and raising enough to serve our two millionth person with clean, safe drinking water. Take a minute with us to reflect on and celebrate what you helped us accomplish in 2011.

Thank you for joining our story.

We sent this video out in an email update last week. Want to get our emails? We send one out about once a month, usually with a story from the field or news about our latest campaign. Sign up here >

Categories:

« Previous
More »