Hey everyone!

As most of you know my Birthday is this Sunday, January 30th. I ask this year instead of buying me any gifts/cards/drinks etc. that you all consider donating to a charity that has really touched my heart. CHARITY WATER is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Just $20 can provide one person with clean water for 20 years. Although my eventual goal is to raise enough money to build a well ($5,000) My birthday wish is to raise $1,000. Ambitious? Yes. But nothing ever worth doing was done easily – or alone. You don’t have to do it for me. Maybe Martin Luther King, Jr. is a role model. Maybe you just want to get started on those tax-deductible gifts earlier than usual. Whatever your motivation might be you will be making an enormous impact on a human life (& help make my birthday wish come true.)

TO DONATE: click "my campaign" suggested donation is $25, but any donation less or more is greatly appreciated.

Please pass this along to your family and friends... there can never be too many donations for such a wonderful cause... simply share the link www.mycharitywater.org/jacquelyn

A worthy side note: Because of charity: water’s unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to direct water projects costs, and each donation is “proved” and tracked to the village it helped when projects are complete.

With this issue being so far from home it is hard to grasp what millions of people are going through on a daily basis. Here are some astonishing facts I came across….

*More than 1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water- translation 1 out of every 8 people does not have safe drinking water.

*This week alone 42,000 people will die from diseases related to low quality drinking water and lack of sanitation. 90% of them will be children UNDER the age of five.

*Every 19 seconds a child dies from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation facilities.

*A five minute shower uses 25 to 50 gallons of water 12 times the amount needed to keep a human being alive for one day.

*By 2025 two thirds of the world’s population5.5 billion people will live in severe water stress.

*At any time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases.

*This year more than 2.2 million people will die from diseases associated with poor water and sanitary conditions.

*On average, women and girls in developing countries walk 6 kilometers (3.72 miles) carrying 20 liters (5 gallons) of water every day. I don’t know about you all, but I can hardly lift the crystal springs 5 gallon jug let alone carry it over 3 miles. This long trek subjects them to danger from other villagers both sexually and physically.
In sub-Saharan Africa, a baby’s chance of dying from diarrhea is almost 520x’s greater than in the US.
More people die each year from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation than all other forms of violence, including WAR.

*76% of the population of Ethiopia does not have access to safe water. 90% of Central Africa does not have access to clean water.

*One toilet flush is equal to the amount of water a person in the developing world uses ALL DAY to clean, cook or drink.

*The average American uses 176 gallons of water per day. Many people in developing nations STRUGGLE to find 2-4 gallons per day to survive.

*Manufacturing a your car used 39,000 gallons of water which is ENOUGH water to keep 1 person alive for 54 years- 10 years longer than the average lifespan in Africa.


With statistics like these I only wish I could do more. Thank you in advance for your support.


Love, Jacquelyn