Denver women raise money for clean water.

This month's LIVE without challenge is 'clutter.'

This past Friday and Saturday, a group of women in the Denver area held a very successful 'LIVE without clutter' sale.*

Many thanks to Jen, Linda, Jodi, Tiffany and all the other volunteers who came together to make this sale happen.  

Because of these generous and hard working ladies, more than 30 people will now have access to clean water! 

*Want to hold your own LIVE without clutter sale?  Let us know, and we would be more than happy to provide guidance and Water for Christmas print materials to help with your sale.

Give water....get a book!

We were honored to have the opportunity to help sponsor the book Clean Water for Elirose during a recent Kickstarter campaign. 

Needless to say, we were extremely excited when this box of books arrived in the mail:

 

And now, we are passing the opportunity on to you to own your very own copy of Clean Water for Elirose!

Here's the deal...it's pretty simple.

Make a donation of $20 or more (just $20 can provide one person clean water for 20 years), and we will send you a copy of Clean Water for Elirose.* 

These books are a fantastic teaching tool for children. Whether in the classroom or at home, 'Clean Water for Elirose provides a tangible, concrete way for parents and teachers to educate young children about the difficult circumstances many children face in other parts of the world.'

 

So what are you waiting for?  Go!  Make your donation, and then simply leave a comment here, or on our facebook page so we can contact you regarding where to ship your book.

* all money goes through and directly to charity: water -- a trusted and highly rated non-profit organization which moves quickly and efficiently to build sustainable clean water projects around the world. Our particular partnership directly contributes to the building and maintenance of clean water wells in Liberia, West Africa

Live without 'clutter'

LIVE without 'entertainment' will be wrapping up this week as June quickly comes to a close.

If you participated in this month's challenge, please don't forget to tally up what you lived without and make your donation here.

Looking ahead to July:

We were inspired when we heard from a group of women in Denver, CO who are preparing to hold a 'LIVE without' community garage sale (July , to raise money for clean water.*

This got us thinking; why don't we encourage each other to live without 'clutter' for the month of July?!

We all probably have things we don't need cluttering our rooms, closets, garages etc.  So why not declutter, and help give clean water at the same time?!

So how can you help?

Rally your friends and neighbors, and hold your own 'LIVE without clutter' garage sale during the month of July.
Raise additional funds for clean water by encouraging your children to set-up a bake sale or lemonade stand at the garage sale.

If holding a garage sale is not an option, consider selling some items on Craigslist or ebay and donate that money to water.  You'll be surprised at what you can get for the items sitting around your home collecting dust!

To date, the LIVE without campaign has raised almost $2000 for clean water projects,
and we are determined to hit the $5000 mark by the end of our last challenge.

 Help us make July the biggest LIVE without month yet!  Please consider joining us, and let's see how many people we can help provide clean water to by living without 'clutter.' 

 *if you live in the Denver area and have any items you would like to donate to the LIVE without clutter community garage sale, please email us at water_team@water4christmas.com.                               

UPDATE: 'Christmas In July' etsy sale

**The Water for Christmas, 'Christmas in July' etsy sale has been postponed.**

 In order to continue focusing our full efforts on the LIVE without campaign throughout the summer and into the fall, we have decided to postpone our 'Christmas in July' etsy sale.

For those who had graciously offered to donate items for our 'Christmas in July' sale are still welcomed to do so for our annual Christmas sale.

  In past years, the Christmas etsy sales have been a great success; raising over $10,000 for clean water projects in West Africa!
This year, the Water for Christmas etsy shop will be opening on Friday, November 28th for our annual Christmas sale...so mark your calendars!

The key to growing our etsy shop is continuing to receive amazing and creative donations from our generous supporters...you!!

If you are interested in making a donation to the Water for Christmas etsy shop, you can do so by filling out this form.  Also, please feel free to pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested in donating items.


Thank you! 

Why water?

Because we find the following statistics unacceptable: 

*NEARLY 1 BILLION PEOPLE LACK ACCESS TO SAFE WATER.

*EVERY 20 SECONDS, A CHILD DIES FROM A WATER-RELATED DISEASE.

*ABOUT 80% OF SEWAGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IS DISCHARGED UNTREATED.

*MORE PEOPLE HAVE CELL PHONES THAN ACCESS TO A DECENT TOILET.

*3.6 MILLION PEOPLE DIE EACH YEAR FROM WATER-RELATED DISEASES.

*LESS THAN 1% OF THE WORLD'S FRESH WATER IS READILY ACCESSIBLE FOR DIRECT HUMAN USE.   

*MILLIONS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN SPEND SEVERAL HOURS A DAY COLLECTING WATER FROM DISTANT, OFTEN POLLUTED SOURCES.
(statistics courtesy of water.org) 

Month 3.

Hard to believe June has arrived.  Not quite sure where the month of May went; it seemed to have flown by in a flash, though!

Thanks so much to all of you who donated last month; and many thanks to those of you who are just now joining us to 'live without' in order to help provide clean water to those truly living without.

June is already in full swing, and so is a new LIVE without challenge!

 

This month we are encouraging each other to live without 'entertainment.'

 

We have to admit, it was quite convicting as we discussed the countless ways and things we could live without this month.

Entertainment is a broad category.  Here are just a few of the items we came up with that fall into the entertainment category:

Movies

Music (CD's/downloads, concerts etc.)

Gaming (video, online, phone games)

Theater productions

Amusement parks

Monthly subscriptions (netflix, movie channels, magazines)

And the list goes on and on. 

Keep in mind, these are just ideas to get you thinking of how this month's challenge may apply to your life.

As with all of the LIVE without challenges, we encourage you to take this challenge and make it personal and relevant to your life.  

Richard Stearns sums it up, quite perfectly, with this quote:

"I can imagine my own life without many of the so-called necessities that I have. You can take away my car and I would find a way to compensate by using public transportation and carpooling with a friend. You could take away my computer and my Internet access, my television, stereo and radio, and I could still have a full and prosperous life. You could reduce the size of my house and my income in half, and even take away my education and I could survive and perhaps thrive. But if you take away water and sanitation, you take away my health and that of my children. If you take away my health, you have taken away my energy and my industry. If you take away my energy and my ability to support my family, you have taken away my dignity; and if you take away my dignity, you have taken away hope—for the future, for my children, for a better life. This is the harsh reality of more than one billion people in the world who live without access to clean, safe water."

Let's see what we can do together this month to help ease the burden of the one billion thirsty currently living without access to clean and safe water.  

Join us.  LIVE without.

New month, new challenge!

May is here!   And with it, comes a new LIVE without challenge.

But before we talk about the new challenge,  we would like to thank all of you who joined us in participating in April's challenge!  Also, a big 'thank-you' to those of you who shared your LIVE without stories this past month.  We encourage you to continue sharing your LIVE without stories with us here and on our facebook page.

If you participated in April's challenge, please head over to our donate page to make your end-of-the-month donation.  All donations go securely through, and directly to, donations go securely through, and directly to, charity: water--and your donation is 100% tax deductible.

As our first challenge comes to a close, we are excited to kick-off a new challenge for the month of May, lunching out.

For this challenge, we are encouraging each other to pass up that lunch-time burger and fries, soup and salad, burrito and chips etc.; and instead, donate that money to help provide someone with clean water. 

Get involved in the challenge; and please help us continue to spread the word by encouraging others to get involved too!! 

 

Tell your friends what you are doing and why--and then encourage them to join with you.  'Brown-bag your lunch at the office and challenge your co-workers to do the same.   Skip that weekly restaurant 'lunch-date' with a friend and have a picnic lunch instead.  It's amazing how these little things we do each day, week, or month, really add up over time, and to think it only takes $20 to provide someone with life-saving water for around 20 years! 

If 'lunching out' is not something you really do...no problem!  Please feel free to replace 'lunching out' for your own live without item.  We encourage you to give this entire campaign meaning by making each monthly challenge personal to you and relevant to your life. 

Please visit our LIVE without page for more information on the challenge, along with some great tools to help you get involved and spread the word.

Also, please don't forget to jump on over to Facebook and 'like' the LIVE without page.  We would love to hear your comments on our Facebook page regarding what you are living without each month, and how the challenge is impacting your life and those around you.

Thank you for your participation in this campaign and for your continued support!

We need YOU!

We are well over half-way through the first LIVE without challenge month...coffee.

 Many thanks to those who have shared with us what they are living without this month.

 For some, it truly has been coffee.  For others, their live without has been anything from soda to probiotic drinks!

Regardless of the item, it's been really cool to see people taking the concept and making it relevant to their lives. 

We want to continue raising awareness regarding this challenge; and most importantly, the reason behind the challenge--the water crisis.

So in preparation for next month's challenge, we are adding a challenge to the challenge:-) 

  We are challenging each of you to tell at least one friend, co-worker or neighbor about the LIVE without challenge. 

Please tell someone about the challenge and encourage them to do these three things:

1. Like our Facebook page.  Let's see if we can reach 100 fans by May.  Come on, that's only about 30 more fans...we can do it!

  2.  Join the LIVE without challenge.  There's no commitment.  It's simply a way of saying 'I am aware of the water crisis and I want to do something about it--I want to do my part to make a difference.'

 3. Learn more about the water crisis, and how it's currently affecting nearly one billion people around the world.

 So are you up for this challenge?

'water changes everything'

Check out the latest video from charity: water

Live Without challenge Q & A

You asked, we’ve responded!

‘Live Without’ challenge Q & A:

Q: Do I have to participate each month?
A: Although we would love for as many people as possible to join the different challenges each month, feel free to participate as you feel led. We hope, though, that at least one of the six items is something that each person can somewhat see as a true ‘challenge’ to live without. Of course the end goal is to supply as much clean water as possible by our donations. But we also desire, though, that through this challenge we will all come away with a greater appreciation for what we daily take for granted; while at the same time becoming more aware of those around the world living each day without the most basic of necessities.

Q: For the April challenge, coffee, do I have to give up my coffee at home?
A: When we were brainstorming ideas for the challenge, we had in mind coffee drinks purchased from a coffee shop, coffee cart etc. Basically, a drink you go out of your way to buy.
For some people, though, coffee is not their thing. If you find yourself consuming other purchased drinks on a regular basis (soda, bottled water, sports drinks, cocktails etc.), then try and go without those drinks as a substitute for coffee. Whatever challenges you to live without!

Q: None of the six items listed are things that will challenge me. Can I substitute?
A: Of course! In fact, we encourage you to share with us what you are living without. If it’s not the suggested items, please leave us a comment here or on our facebook page and let us know what you’re
living without.

Q: Where do I make my donation at the end of each month?
A: To make your donation, please follow the red donate button at water4christmas.com.

Q: What tools will be provided to help remind me to ‘live without’ each month?
A: Please visit the Live Without page on our website for some useful tools (blog buttons, donation tracking calendars, postcards etc.). We also will be sending a reminder wristband to anyone who signs up here to join the challenge. We hope that these bands will be a daily reminder of the purpose for this challenge.

Please feel free to share your comments and questions regarding the Live Without challenge. We would also love to hear from you on our Facebook page.

World Water Day

Today is World Water Day.

Every year, on March 22, we celebrate WWD as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources (UN WWD).

At Water for Christmas, we love seeing all the various clean water initiatives putting their creative efforts to use for the same end goal...clean water for all.

There are many ways to be a voice today.

Please consider joining our LIVE without challenge, set to begin on April 1st.
Visit our Facebook page and read more about it here on our blog.


Check out some other projects going on today at some of our favorite organizations.

The Adventure Project has a blog-a-thon campaign going on right now, typeTAP, to raise funds for a well repair program in Northern India. If they reach their goal of $10,000 in 24 hours, it will be matched.

Help them reach their goal, find out more by clicking on the picture.

 

Charity: water shows how water changes everything over on their site....cool stuff.
 

Don’t forget Living Water International and Samaritan’s Purse. Both are amazing organizations and offer lots of great ways to get involved.
 

And last, there’s a bunch of great ideas over at the official WWD site.

So don’t just sit there, go and get inspired!

Happy World Water Day!!

'Live Without' facebook page

Click on over and 'like' the new facebook page for the Live Without campaign.


The page is still in the beginning stages of development, but we hope to have the page abuzz with conversation soon, and throughout the duration of campaign.
Help us make this happen by becoming a fan, and spreading the word regarding the challenge.

The 'Live Without' challenge begins April 1st!

World Water Day 2011

World Water Day 2011 is just around the corner.

Each year, ‘a diverse coalition of water, sanitation, hygiene and health organizations come together for World Water Day. The goal of the coalition is to raise awareness and call for stronger commitments and more robust action to ensure universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation everywhere they are needed.’

Learn more here about the water crisis, and get ready to raise your voice on March 22.

I Can Live Without

I Can Live Without

Today I stopped at Starbucks after a morning of errands. Just the other day I got a massage and met a friend for lunch. This weekend, our family will likely go out to dinner and catch the latest release at our local movie theatre.

Can I live without my daily coffee and the latest fad in jeans? Will I survive without having my feet massaged and my food served to me at a restaurant? Is it possible to go on one more day without seeing the latest, just released movie?

The answer is of course, YES. Life will go on without all these things. They are not necessities…they are in fact, luxuries…and these luxuries add up over time.

But the fact is, no one can live without water.

Right now, almost 1 billion people are currently living without clean, safe drinking water and basic sanitation. 4500 children die each day from the lack of clean drinking water. This is unacceptable.

The average American spends around $500 each year on coffee. That’s over $40 per month! But did you know that just $40 can provide clean, life-saving water to 2 people for an estimated 20+ years?

So what if I gave up my coffee (a luxury) and in turn gave that money to help give someone clean water (a necessity). Really not a big sacrifice for me, but life changing for someone else. Now, imagine if we all join together and give up our coffee? Maybe we can help provide clean water to an entire village!

So today, on the first day of Lent, we ask you to join us as we prepare our hearts and minds for a challenge. A challenge to live without....so others don’t have to.

Here’s how the 6 month giving challenge will work:

Starting in April we will join together; challenging one other, each month, to give up something...something we can easily live without.

We will kick it all off by giving up coffee. If you don’t drink coffee, live without your daily soda, bottled waters etc. At the end of April, please calculate the amount of money you would have spent on coffee (or other drinks), and make your donation here.*

Your donation each month may be $5 or $100…either way, it’s each of us giving up something we can live without, so someone who can’t live without clean water, can live. 

The monthly breakdown will be as follows:
April: Coffee (soda, bottled water, unnecessary drinks, in general)
May: Lunch (eat out for lunch? ‘brown bag it’ instead)
June: Entertainment (movies, music etc.)
July: Pampering services (massages, mani/pedi, hair services, etc.)
July: Shopping (pass up new clothes, shoes, purses etc.)
August: Dining Out (eat at home instead)

Here’s how you can help:
Learn more about the water crisis
Invest in this cause. make a donation
Viral...post about this campaign on facebook, twitter, blogs etc.
Encourage your friends, family, co-workers etc. to get involved.

Please check back often as we will continue to provide tools and encouragement leading to the April 1st kick off.

Join us. Live without.

Good read on the success of water projects in Nimba County, Liberia.

Donations made to Water for Christmas have gone directly to help fund water projects in this region and throughout Liberia.

Liberia: soap and healing. from charity: water on Vimeo.

Conflict in West Africa.

Charity: water posted this update regarding the current situation in Cote d’Ivoire, directly affecting neighboring Liberia.

The West African country of Cote d’Ivoire, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, has been in turmoil since early December when outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo refused leave office despite opposition leader Alassane Ouattara’s UN-certified and internationally-recognized victory in November’s run-off election.


In Liberia, UN agencies are aiding refugees from among both Mr. Ouattara’s and Mr. Gbagbo’s supporters. Their numbers now top 22,000, most of whom are women and children who urgently need food, shelter and clean water, all in short supply in Liberia’s Nimba County, where the refugees are arriving (UN News Centre).

Currently all funds raised through Water for Christmas go directly to fund clean water projects in Liberia. We hold Liberia, and West Africa as a whole, extremely dear, and are praying for a quick resolution in Cote d’Ivoire and safety for the people of this entire region.

For more information and updates regarding this issue, please see below links:
charity: water log
UN News Centre
The Economist

W4C Etsy shop update and thank you

The Water for Christmas Etsy shop brought in over $3000 during our December 'Shop4Water' sale.

We are so grateful to all the talented and creative artists who generously donated their time and energy to support the store.

Thanks to both the artist/crafters and our wonderful shop supporters, more than 150 people will now have access to clean and safe drinking water!

The store currently has quite a few remaining items, including several items just recently listed.  Many items have been discounted significantly and it would be great to find these items a home before the store officially closes on January 15th.

The store will reopen this summer for our 'Christmas in July' sale when we hope to have our shop fully stocked with many new and exciting items.

We are preparing now to make this July sale BIG...with the goal of bringing lots of clean water to those most in need.

But we can't do this alone....we need you!

So we are starting now...thinking a few months ahead and calling all interested artists and crafters to join us.  Those who have previously donated to our store, as well as new crafters who may have just heard about us...please join us!

For all interested artists/crafters,  please send us an email at water_team@water4christmas.com.  We will add you to our mailing list and keep you updated on dates and details regarding our Water for Christmas etsy shop.

We will also be posting all etsy shop updates and details here on our blog.  Be sure to check back often, and please feel free to direct other interested parties here, as well.

This quote has been used since the inception of Water for Christmas, and continues to hold true to our efforts today....

Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world; Indeed, they’re the only ones who ever have. -Margaret Mead

Thank you!