You ever walk over to the sink on a summer afternoon, fill up a bunch of giant cups with hot, clean water, and then dunk a bunch of hot dog buns in them? No? Just me? Well you can.

Most of us can get clean water from our taps and use it however we want at any time. But in many places in the world, that’s just not true. And most of us can’t fathom the hardships that come with spending hours, walking miles to the nearest water source, just to lug 40 lbs of muddy, contaminated water back home to ration for all of our family’s needs. Most of us can’t imagine a life of knowing your future can’t be improved by education or careers because you’re the only one in the family who can take the journey each day. Most of us can’t imagine the pain of watching our children suffer or die due to waterborne illness. The life we know brings clean water to our toilets. And it’s completely because of the luck of the draw regarding where we were born.

It’s hard to recognize the amazing privileges we have in our daily lives. And it’s hard to not feel helpless once we know the reality of others. But that’s the thing I love about Charity:Water… they give us the chance to NOT feel helpless about this. We can make a real difference, we can improve the lives of real people, and bring clean water right to their villages, their schools, their communities. We can help give people the chance to not only survive, but thrive - opening the doors to education for young girls. Giving hours back to the days of women, who use those to start businesses to support their families. Just read the stories on the charity:water site, and you can see all the amazing things that access to clean water can bring. So let’s do this. Let’s help get 20 more people clean water for life!

For added incentive, every time we raise $100, I’ll do a practice run and shove a bunch of hot dogs and soggy buns in my face, in preparation for the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest! You’ll help me improve my chances at the contest, and help others improve their chances of having a healthier, happier life!