Together we can make sure 33 people have fresh water!

For the first time ever, Kathy and I had funds set aside for our 2016 St. Nicholas Day family celebration. Then Standing Rock happened. On my way to stand with Water Protectors at Standing Rock, I crossed so many creeks and rivers and traveled the coastlines of three of the largest freshwater lakes in the world (Michigan, Huron, and Superior). I remembered again the indescribable value of clean, accessible, water. Then I listened to http://www.theliturgists.com/podcast/2016/11/1/suffering-part-1 and learned about charity: water.org.

So, instead of large gifts this year, Kathy and I invited our kids and their partners to give water away. We all agreed that our extended family and friends would want to help by giving or joining our team and fundraising.

Many of us have no idea what it's like to be thirsty. We have plenty of water to drink -- even the water in our toilets is clean!

But many people around the world don’t have that luxury. Every day, about 1,400 children die from diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are simple solutions like drilled wells, spring protections and BioSand filters that help provide clean water to communities around the world.

We started this fundraising campaign to help charity: water build these types of projects around the world, and we're looking for anyone who can help us.

Please donate to our campaign -- anything you can give is a huge help.

100% of the money will be used to build clean water projects, and when they’re complete, charity: water will send us photos and GPS coordinates so we can see the exact community we helped.