Shine a Light on Clean Water

Courtesy: charity: water // How To Raise Awareness for Clean Water

A friend and I were chatting recently, and he said, “You care about clean water. I get it.” And rather than take this as the insult he probably intended, I was kinda proud at that moment. It meant that I had, in a tiny way, raised awareness about clean water and its importance in the world.

“Clean water and its importance in the world” sounds strange to write, but until about the last decade, “clean water” was hardly a cause. It wasn’t a sexy topic or much of a topic at all until charity: water (founded by Scott Harrison) and water.org (co-founded by Matt Damon) came along to shine a light on it.

This light showed 663 million people around the world who don’t have access to clean drinking water. “They have to walk for miles to collect water that’s not even clean before they can make a loaf of bread to feed their family,” said Viktoria Harrison, Vice President of Creative at charity: water. “They worry constantly that their next drink will be contaminated with parasites or disease.”

In fact, diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. And nearly half of those deaths are children under five years old.

Here are three ways you can help make a difference for the millions of people facing this challenge:

Help raise awareness about the water crisis. Make sure your friends “get it” that access to clean water is a big issue.
Consider donating to charity: water. Every $30 gives one person access to clean water for years to come, and 100% of your donation goes straight to water projects.
Buy a coffee mug at Society B. Made by The Created Co., each mug provides a donation to charity: water. And when someone in the break room at work compliments your mug, mention that it supports clean water.

The Created Co. // Mugs that Support Clean Water // Available at Society B