Remember Marco Rubio’s State of the Union response, when he got thirsty and reached for some water:

Well we’re thrilled to announce that he’s using that moment (and the fun that we all had with it) to do something good. Having traveled to Haiti last year, where thousands of people have died from cholera spread by unclean water, Marco just pledged his upcoming 42nd birthday to help raise money for clean water projects!

In his words: “We are truly blessed to have the luxury of being able to laugh about water moments like mine, but for too many, the lack of clean and safe drinking water is no laughing matter. I’m proud to support charity: water, and look forward to dedicating my birthday to raise much-needed money for this worthy cause.”

In honor of World Water Day, join Marco by pledging your next birthday! We just revamped the entire birthdays section of our website. Take a look at some of the other people who have used their birthdays to raise money — and the impact it’s making. Every birthday makes a difference!

Today is World Water Day. It’s a day when we can be thankful for the clean water coming out of our taps and turn the world’s attention to the 800 million people still living without access to clean water.

And that’s our plan.

We’ve got a whole bunch of exciting things in store this year — and support from a lot of awesome people. Here’s a little sneak peek of what’s to come:

Installation in Times Square

We’re raising awareness about the water crisis by setting up a Waterwalk in Times Square. Millions of people around the world walk hours each day to collect dirty water, so we’re asking people to walk a fraction of the distance to experience it for themselves. If you’re in New York City, come check it out. We’ll be located in Duffy Square (between 45th and 47th Streets, Broadway and Seventh Avenue) between 2pm and 7pm.

Jerry Cans Around the World

Our incredible network of volunteers will be out in full force tomorrow. In elementary schools and on the Atlanta Beltway, delivering PSAs and hosting their own Waterwalks. We shipped Jerry cans to friends all over the world to help make a scene. It’s going to be great. Keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds to see some of that in action.

Birthday Stories

More than anything this year, we want as many people as possible to pledge their birthday to clean water projects. So we’ve created some video inspiration and pulled together all of our favorite stories to inspire you. Take a look at the brand new charitywater.org/birthdays!

TEDxRVA

There are also some really cool events happening. Like TEDx on Friday night in Richmond, Virginia — which will include the installation above, as well as a Waterwalk through the city.

We’re excited. It’s going to be a pretty amazing day — and hopefully an impactful one. You can join us by pledging your birthday or donating right now!

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A special thanks to our fantastic partners:
TOMS
W Hotels
Seamless
AG Jeans
Outbrain
Bazaarvioice
Zynga
Twitter
ThredUp
AOL Impact
Zendesk
Responsys

Ashley Westrich loves to doodle. She’s a part of the creative team at charity: water and her doodles are sprinkled throughout our design. Last week, she launched a fundraising campaign for her birthday, promising that she’d doodle the name of every person who donated on her page. Just when we think fundraisers can’t get more creative, someone like Ashley thinks of something completely new. Want to see your name doodled? Just donate $29 on Ashley’s fundraising page.

See all of her doodles here >

We made this Valentine Video Card just for YOU — our amazing supporters who make our work possible every day. We also just wanted to put a smile on your face!

P.S. No paid actors were used in the filming of this video. The charity: water staff are just this fun. :)
P.P.S. A huge thank you to Brooke Fraser for giving us the perfect song.

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! Enjoy…

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We know that it’s nearly impossible to catch all the names in this video, so we’re breaking it down for you frame by frame here:

Have you ever had a project that you knew needed attention, but you never got around to it because it was just too daunting? Well for us, that’s been the mycharitywater.org campaign page. Thousands of people see it every week and it’s the most visited page on our site, but the design has been stuck in 2008, and it’s time to clean up the cobwebs. This month our team assembled, rolled up their sleeves and re-envisioned the entire page.

The new page is set to launch around mid-February, so stay tuned.