Even the charity: water staff who’ve never met Sarah Peck know her name. She’s famous in our office. Not for the number of campaigns that she’s run or even the amount of money she’s raised… but forone very crazy promise she made years ago.
It was 2012. 28-year-old Sarah had just heard charity: water’s founder, Scott, speak at Chris Guillebeau’s World Domination Summit, and she was fired up. She wanted to do something to help bring clean water to people in need, and there wasn’t time to wait.
Within 48 hours, Sarah had created her fundraising campaign. She set a $29,000 goal (for her 29th birthday) and announced her terms:
“If enough people donate a crazy amount of money, I promise to swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco in the murky, cold waters — in nothing but my birthday suit.”
Yep. You read that correctly. Sarah Peck volunteered to swim 1.5 miles in freezing cold water, wearing only a swim cap, to raise money for clean water.
“Water is incredibly important to me because it’s what makes me feel at home. I have the luxury of splashing around in giant bodies of water and I realized that some people don’t have enough to stay clean, I want to change that.”
The first $7,000 came quickly. But soon things started to slow down. Even though $29 donations were coming in from all over the place, it still felt like the needle wasn’t moving. That’s when Sarah’s competitive side really came out.
“I made it my personal mission for several weeks to ask as many people as I could — and to ask everyone I came in contact with, whether or not I knew them! I ended up taking taxis and using the ride time to share the story, and drivers would donate my fare or a cup of coffee to the cause, and I’d translate that into donations.”
With the help of 460 donations, Sarah didn’t just reach her $29,000 goal, she surpassed it. Her final tally: $32,398. Which meant that it was time to push aside fears of sharks, tides and giant ships and fulfill her promise.
She studied tide charts, hired a boat captain, notified the Coast Guard. And on a cold day at the end of September 2012, she became a charity: water legend.
It’s fair to call it crazy. Everyone at charity: water calls it crazy. Sarah herself called it crazy.
But crazy is what makes it memorable. Crazy is what inspired hundreds of donors. And, in this case,crazy is what brought clean water to more than 650 people in Ethiopia.
“At the end of the day, my discomfort came from being cold for about an hour, and breaking through some of my social insecurities to ask people for money — that’s nothing compared to not having access to water.”
In addition to the people who took part in her campaign, and the taxi drivers and baristas she befriended, Sarah has inspired every one of us. Our slogan, “the craziest thing we can do is nothing,” was written with her in mind. And her campaign is one we will share forever.
Thank you, Sarah, for giving your voice, your time and your humility to our cause. Here’s to the crazy ones, indeed.
“The world is not transactional. Love and light are expansive. Giving isn’t part of a zero-sum game. When you give, you don’t lose — you get something else in return, and the world keeps moving.”
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!
Some days we’re better at being adults than others. Today is not one of those days. Halloween justhappens to be something we’ve always taken pretty seriously at charity: water.
Highlights from our office this year include: a very lovable Garth and Kat, a very terrifying set of twins from the Shining, a human taco, some mac n cheese, Amelia Earhart, a ship captain, an ape, a viking, a Frank head and some very scrappy ninja turtles. Enjoy.
Also– did you see our Snapchat (@charitywater) this morning?!
This September, charity: water turns 10 and we’re celebrating by launching our biggest physical installation in charity: water history. We’ll be taking over The Winter Garden at Brookfield Place in NYC for three weeks this August to raise awareness for the 663 million people living without clean water around the world.
And we want you to be there with us.
We’ll be sharing our new Virtual Reality film, The Source, and inviting the public to put on a VR headset and meet Selam, a 13-year-old girl in Ethiopia. Guests will step into Selam’s world for 9 minutes and experience the moment her village gets clean water for the first time and their lives change forever.
Thanks to a generous anonymous donor and our friends at Morgan Stanley, every viewing of the film will unlock a $30 donation and give one person clean water. Our goal is to bring at least 10,000 people clean water by the end of the three weeks.
If you can’t join us in person, you can still experience The Source! Watch it online here.
Two years ago, humanitarian photographer Esther Havens met a young boy named Jean Bosco as a charity: water well was being drilled in his village. Since then, she’s photographed hundreds of people around the world for charity: water. She recently revisited that first village and met up with Jean Bosco again. Here is her story.
All I could hear was my heart thumping.
I walked a familiar dusty road with a camera in my right hand, a stack of photos in my left. I was on a mission to find Jean Bosco.
My world first collided with his two years ago when I traveled to Rwanda with an organization called Wishing Well Africa. We spent three days in his village, Murinja. Each morning, we followed people as they collected drinking water from small, murky ponds and watched them fill their Jerry Cans from the same place where animals sloshed and women washed their laundry. People here spent hours walking for water that made their kids sick. Their kids constantly complained of stomach aches.
I remember the first time I saw Jean Bosco; I took a photo of him immediately. He was a bashful boy but his face resembled maturity beyond his years. He showed me his home. He walked me along the path he used every day to collect pond water.
Like Jean Bosco, I never knew you could drill a hole into the ground and drinkable water would come spewing out.
I wondered if he’d ever know how many people would recognize his face. Without a clue, this one boy had helped bring clean water to villages all over the world by inspiring others to help.
But I saw this first-hand. The day we arrived in Murinja luckily corresponded with the day a charity: water well was drilled. Jean Bosco and I stood side by side and watched as the drilling rig bore into the earth, finding water 70 feet below. We rejoiced together when clean water gushed out of a new well that was a short walk from his home. We knew then that life for him and his neighbors would never be the same.
I left Murinja unsure if I’d ever see him again. But I couldn’t forget Jean Bosco. I shared his story with charity: water, and they shared his story with the world. Before I knew it, he was famous. His face debuted at the charity: water Saks Fifth Avenue gala and showed up at other fundraising events and exhibitions in NYC. I got calls and emails from people so moved by his story that they sponsored wells, started their own fundraising campaigns or in one instance, named a pet after him (the African Grey Parrot at Sea World is lovingly named “Jean Bosco”).
Jean Bosco’s story offered a sobering look at life for millions of kids in the developing world. But to many, he became a symbol of hope and inspiration. Villages like his don’t have to keep drinking brown pond water. All they need is a little help.
In April 2010, charity: water asked me to return to Rwanda. Anticipation mounted as I took off for Murinja Village with water program director Becky Straw and multimedia producer Mo Scarpelli on a crisp Saturday morning. We passed the murky pond where the community once collected water and children fell in step behind us near the freshwater well. I pulled out a couple of photos from years before and asked if anyone recognized Jean Bosco. They giggled at the sight of their friend -– yes! He was nearby! They could show me.
I heard the familiar seesaw-like sound from the well; kids were pumping away, filling their Jerry cans, and I even recognized a few. I asked if they remembered their well’s drilling or if remembered me. “Last time, my hair was white, like Santa Claus,” I explained. A few laughed and said something in Kinyarwandan. “They say you are the same,” our translator told us. “But your hair was like an old man before, so you are younger now.”
“Jean Bosco!” A chorus of excitement rang out as a slight, graceful boy stepped up a small hill where I stood.
I was taken aback -– Jean Bosco looked the same! He was a little taller but his face was indistinguishable. Becky and Mo recognized him from the six-foot tall photo that hung in the charity: water office, a world away.
I handed him printed photos of himself. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He hesitated. Then a smile broke out on his face. He reached over — and hugged me. I was flattered and surprised. He remembered me! And he knew why the charity: water well was important to his community.
“We used to get sick,” he told us as his younger brother held tight to his side. “We don’t get sick now.”
“Our stomach pains are gone,” other children chimed in. I scanned the small crowd forming around us and recognized a young woman.
“Clarisse!” She smiled back up at me, bent slightly forward with a new baby on her back. She told us she watched the drilling two years ago while pregnant with her first child. “I knew the water would be safe for my baby,” she told us. “I was relieved.”
We asked her if the new well affected her in other ways.
“Before, I could not get clean,” she told us. “Now, I am shining. I am clean!”
Just two years of clean water transformed this village -– and I got to see it with my own eyes. As I stood with Jean Bosco again near his well before saying goodbye, I wondered if he’d ever know how many people would recognize his face. Without a clue, this one boy had helped bring clean water to villages all over the world by inspiring others to help.
This is why I tell stories, this is why I get close to the people I photograph and this is why I share their heart. Jean Bosco doesn’t yet fully understand the impact of his story. But I’ll keep telling it forever.
charity: water began almost ten years ago with a birthday party. Since then, it’s been one of the best ways for supporters (especially young ones) to help raise money for clean water.
Today, over 18,000 people have used their birthday to help serve others in need. And together they’ve raised enough to bring clean and safe drinking water to half a million people around the world.
This community is incredible, and we wanted to introduce some of them to you. Here are four young heroes who are currently sacrificing their birthday gifts to help bring clean water to families in need…
Meet Evelyn and Madison. Two of the cutest three-year-olds we have the pleasure of knowing. These twins both pledged their 3rd golden birthday this year to help bring clean water to people around the world after their parents heard about charity: water on the Bill Simmons podcast.
“We were blown away by all the personal stories. The different stories and statistics really pulled at our heart strings and it just happened to be that we listened to the podcast the week before the girls’ birthday.”
Inspired by the lightbulb going off that they wanted to help build the character trait of generosity in their children at a young age and get them thinking about the future of serving together as a family and living for others, Evelyn and Madison’s parents talked to the girls about giving up their birthday for charity: water.
“charity: water is the golden bullet of birthday presents. You give health, education, and time to families. There is not a day that goes by when I don’t think about how much water we use, and how I never worry about my children being sick from the water they drink.”
After flooding social media with cute pictures of the twins and spreading the message of these little girls desire to help others, the donations started pouring in. Many people who don’t even know the Wever family have been donating to the girls’ campaign and even going beyond the $6.
Evelyn and Madison have been thrilled to see the success of their campaign and even more thrilled to know that they’re helping change the lives of kids all around the world.
“Momma gives us clean water, other mommas should have clean water to give to their kids too.”
Ever since he was 4, Dylan has chosen to support a charity on his birthday. Two years ago, he heard that professional skateboarder Tony Hawk pledged his birthday for charity: water and he was so inspired, he decided to pledge his birthday too.
This is Dylan’s second birthday campaign for charity: water and he’s already on a roll. He’s hosted lemonade and art stands to raise money and even hosted a birthday party where he asked for cash gifts instead of presents.
Thanks so much for your support, Dylan! We can’t wait to see the impact your birthday has on the lives of people all around the world!
Sydney first heard about charity: water when she was 9 years old and a girl from her church started fundraising for the organization. A girl that we all have come to know and love over the years: Rachel Beckwith.
After hearing Rachel’s story, Sydney was inspired and knew that anyone, no matter what age they were, could make a difference.
When Sydney first started her campaign, she reached her fundraising goal of $450 within three hours! Since then, she has posted about her campaign on social media and even had a birthday party where she asked her friends to donate to her campaign instead of bringing her gifts.
So far Sydney has raised over $1,200 and we can’t wait to see what else she has in store.
Six-year-old Gabriel Torres first heard about charity: water when his mom showed him videos of families and kids from around the world working hard to gather water that wasn’t even clean.
“I never knew so many people didn’t have clean water,” he said. “When I saw how hard these families worked to get water from open wells that they could get hurt using, and how they walked for so long to get there just to bring home brown water to their children and families, I wanted to help.”
This is Gabriel’s first birthday campaign for charity: water and he’s already raised over 3 times his initial goal! He raised his first $130 in a matter of minutes just by talking to his dad’s friends about what he was planning on doing for his birthday. And for his birthday party, he even created his own Jerry Can to collect donations.
“Many people are very happy when they see how much I care. They think it’s pretty cool that I decided I didn’t want toys for my birthday or any gifts. Instead I wanted $6 to change lives and give people clean water that don’t have it today. I know that I have clean water and I never knew how lucky I was. I think everyone should be able to have clean water like we do.”
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.
Over the years, thousands of people have started their own fundraising campaigns for charity: water. People have biked, swam, hosted concerts, run marathons, given up their birthdays, and more – all to help us bring clean water to people in need.
You would think we have seen it all. But time and time again, we are constantly blown away by the support of our fundraisers.
Especially when those fundraisers are half our size.
Who would have thought the smallest kids could have the biggest hearts. Here are five of our favorite world-changers fundraising for clean water today.
1. Cosette’s Paintings with a Purpose
One of our favorite fundraisers joined the charity: water family before most kids can even talk. Cosette Swart was only 3 years old when she learned that many people don’t have enough food or water to live. Wanting to do something about this, she started selling her paintings to raise money.
Cosette is now 5 years old and has raised over $6,000 for charity: water through paintings alone! She’s currently running her third fundraising campaign and is still going strong.
Two Youth Groups from St. Joseph’s Church in Penfield and Fairport United Methodist Church have combined forces once again this year for their second fundraising campaign for clean water.
They’ve hosted multiple events to raise awareness about the global water crisis over the past few years. So far, they’ve brought clean water to nearly 100 people in need! And they’re just getting started.
Arav is one of the most dedicated and passionate kids we’ve ever met. He first gave up his 6th birthday two years ago and raised over $3,000 to bring clean water to over 100 people.
He’s given up his birthday every year since then, and today, he’s raised over $8,000 for clean water.
That’s more than 260 people who no longer have to worry about getting sick from drinking dirty water – thanks to the big heart of small 8-year-old boy.
Three teenagers from Martin County, Florida (collectively known as Students4H2O) are on a mission to trade Jerry Cans for backpacks.
They want to fund an entire water project for a community in need so that kids no longer have to spend their days walking for water, but can instead get an education at school.
So far, they’ve led a number of initiatives to raise awareness and funds for clean water, including their very own Water Fest – featuring music, contests, face paintings, and a bounce house.
They’re currently only $1,500 away from their goal of $10,000, and we can’t wait to see them reach it!
After reaching their goal of $10,000 in just one night after asking for donations instead of gifts at her Bat Mitzvah, Anna and her friend Liv (who also gave up her birthday for clean water), have decided to raise their fundraising goal to $20,000!
They did their own research on the water crisis, chose to support charity: water, and started a club at school.
“We are the only two members of our club – we’re the Co-Founders and CEOs. But we don’t necessarily need any more members - too many people can mean too many opinions.”
That’s the number of people who have gained access to clean and safe water thanks to our brand partners. We are incredibly grateful for this community of like-minded brands and their ability to raise awareness for the water crisis in powerful and creative ways.
To celebrate their work and inspire new collaborations, we hosted our third annual Brand Partnership X Summit at Canoe Studios in NYC! This year, we were joined by over 65 brands for a day of insightful conversations. We focused on innovation and what it means for our work at charity: water, in partnerships, and in the world around us. From groundbreaking sensor technology and the launch of The Pool to jewelry crafted from meteorites and sprinkle-filled rainbow cakes, we left feeling inspired to keep creating and pushing the boundaries.
Check out the highlights from this year’s event:
We are so grateful to everyone who joined us. The Summit would not have been possible without our speakers who generously gave their time to help us see how purposeful innovation can drive change. A very special thank you to:
Professor, author, and entrepreneur Scott Galloway, for showing us the importance of having a meaningful career and helping us understand our life strategies, not just business strategies.
Kristin De Simone and Sylvia Hartley, Partners at Thrive Market, for sharing the story of how Thrive Market decided to partner with charity: water and for reimagining what giving means for their brand and customers.
Simon Sinek, optimist and bestselling author, for teaching us what it means to feel fulfilled and reminding us that we need to build the future together.
Artist and designer Monique Péan, for sharing her story and inspiring us with her incredible craft and unwavering commitment to sustainability and support of local communities.
Paull Young, Partner at Facebook, for showing us what being a true partner really means and encouraging the importance of working in tandem to create change.
Amirah Kassem, baker and entrepreneur, for urging us to be our true selves and demonstrating how working hard and inspiring joy can go hand-in-hand!
Another special thank you to Canoe Studios for the beautiful space and delicious catering; Taylor Creative for the comfortable and stylish furnishings; Badger Mountain Vineyard and Sunday Beer Co for providing the wine and beer for cocktail hour; Thrive Market and Scott Galloway for helping us fill our swag bags; C2 Imaging for printing and installing the stunning branding elements; Dear Bayard for the beautiful greenery; The Spaniard for hosting our pre-event cocktail party; and all of the volunteers who worked tirelessly and joyfully to ensure the day went off without a hitch.