On October 7th, Lindsey and I are going to be running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

We are each running 26.2 miles, for a combined total of 52.4 miles of sweating, pushing, giving everything we've got.

Running that many miles might seem tough, but imagining doing all of that without clean water puts it in perspective.

Every week, millions of women and their children walk countless miles just to get water for their families. Most of it is contaminated, but it's the only water they have. They take the chance of contracting deadly diarrheal diseases with every sip. Unfortunately for almost all of these people, there's nothing they can do to change this.

Our mission is to raise $5,000 for water. This would provide the funds to build a well for a community that would serve 250 people. Imagine 250 people having access to clean water right in their village, rather than putting themselves in dangerous conditions everyday. However, we can't do this alone. This is going to be a team effort!

In order reach this goal we will have to raise around $100 for each of our combined 52.4 miles. An anonymous donor has volunteered to match all donations made, so a gift of $50 would sponsor an entire mile of the race and would provide water for 5 people in itself! However, any gift of any size can change lives. Even a gift of $10 would provide funds to provide one person with clean water. Whether someone is sponsoring several miles or a fraction of a mile, all gifts will go directly into funding a well for a community.

The best part: 100% of all funds will go straight to building water projects in the field. These funds are not used for our race entry fees or any other personal expenses; the funds are used only for providing clean water where it is needed most. Then when the projects are complete, charity: water will show us just where they are and who they're helping (with GPS coordinates, photos and other details). You'll be able to see the communities where you have made an impact.

*UPDATE*
~ An anonymous donor has generously offered to match all donations made through the end of the campaign. As a result, your donations will be effectively doubled and put to work in an even bigger way. Let's build this well! ~