Burnside Wants You! To Help Bring Clean Water

All through college I was bombarded with images and ads like this, showing how much (and how many) people around the world were suffering.  And the response was to feel guilty, give something up so I could give something away, and do the right thing: send some money.  Maybe this was your experience,too.

For most of the world, not much has changed.  There are still billions of people in need of life-sustaining necessities like food, water, and shelter.  And we have an overabundance of all of these things.  Maybe like me, you’ve changed one thing you have control over:  feeling guilty.  These days, I try not to turn away, say, “I’ll do that later” (’cause I won’t), but not because I think I’m the answer to their problem.  I try to think of how I can join the “needy” in their quest for a better life because I have the chance to join the strong, resourceful, creative people who are fighting for their right to survival, for a dignified way of life, and for a future for their children.

That’s why here at Burnside we’re one of thirty bloggers (see below) who are teaming up to raise $30,000 during the month of September to help Charity:Water provide clean water to 1,500 people.*

If you’re not familiar with why water is an important thing to give to, here are a few things to consider (check this site out for more):

• Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us.
• Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
• 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable.

Sound like a good cause?

• Would you join us in giving to this campaign? It can be $5 or $100.  Every dollar provides one person with clean water for one year.  $20 provides twenty people with clean water for 20 years.  That’s pretty cheap.  You can donate here.  (Also, note that 100% of what you give goes to providing clean water.  Private donors pay the overhead.)

• Would you share about the campaign, either on Facebook, Twitter, or on your own blog?

So, finally, you’ve probably seen this video, but if not, it’s a paradigm shifter.

Jennifer Connelly in charity: water Public Service Announcement from charity: water on Vimeo.

Thanks for listening.

30:30:30  Blog Roll

Bryan Allain
Matt Appling
Trey Boden
Jason Boyett
Everett Bracken
Stephen Brewster
Billy Coffey
Tripp Crosby
Greg Darley
Sam Davidson
Rachel Held Evans
Evan Forester
Chad Gibbs
Susan Isaacs
Kevin Keigley
Lacey Keigley
Wes Molebash
Scott Moore
Eric Olsen
AJ Passman
Katdish
Brad Ruggles
Rob Shepherd
Jeff Shinabarger
Shawn Smucker
Tyler Stanton
Tyler Tarver
Tyler Thigpen
Karen Spears Zacharias

* We make it a practice not to promote any particular organizations, but we really believe in this cause, and charity:water is as good as anyone at it.  So, here goes.