For women in the Sahel, the first step out of poverty begins with clean water. We can help!

Hi everyone,

I hope this finds you well! A lot of you know I've done fundraisers for charity: water in the past, and it's for good reason - they're doing really good work and they use donations extremely well.

1. I love how charity: water uses all public donations (read: the stuff you give to this campaign) directly to field projects. They cover overhead in other creative ways, like by partnering with luxury brands to sell products or by having a small, dedicated circle of philanthropists who donate to fund operations and growth. They really do cover 100%, down to credit card fees!

2. Water is something that matters a lot to me because it is THE crucial building block to economic development. Clean water & proper sanitation prevents hundreds of diseases and can give an area thousands of hours of time back. It has a particularly positive effect for women in these communities: there are some amazing success stories of women who become empowered to start their own businesses now that they aren't spending half the day gathering water, or girls who can go to school even when they're on their period because they have new bathrooms. Not to mention that eliminating resource scarcity can help prevent violence. Water does change everything.

3. The third thing I'll tell you to convince you that these guys know what they're doing is...they know what they're good at, which is fundraising. charity: water partners with region-specific organizations with decades of hands-on expertise. These partners understand that water projects are not a one-size-fits-all solution, and most importantly, they train the community and give them the tools to maintain this water project so it doesn't fall by the wayside. These projects are designed to be long-term and relatively maintained, unlike solutions that would require a $500 part to be flown in if something broke.

A professional copywriter wrote the stuff below, so I'll let you take a look at it for more information.

Oh! Yeah. I'm running a 5k. MY FIRST 5K. Ever. So if nothing else, come and laugh at my heaving, asthmatic body limping across the finish line. You keep donating, I'll keep training. And hopefully this teeny tiny gesture will do more than just raise awareness - we'll raise some DOLLAS! $$$

On a serious note, I really do believe that access to clean water and sanitation is one of the most important things we can invest in as a global economy and as global citizens, and I hope you join me on this journey.

I love you all, and even if you can't donate, I'd love to hear from you!

Ok, time for that copywriter's professional spiel. Here you go.

Much love,
Daniel
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During the hotter part of the year, the average temperature in the Sahel region of West Africa is more than 110 degrees.

For women here, not having access to clean water means hours of painful and exhausting work. Many of them walk miles each day just to reach the 100-year-old hole in the ground where they collect water. And they make that trip four or five times. Not only is that water contaminated and dirt-colored, but it has to be pulled up by hand, one bucket at a time.

The homemade rope burns their hands; it causes bleeding and leaves callouses — even scars. And sometimes the rope breaks, causing women to fall into the wells.

But we can change all of that!

We can bring solar powered pumps into communities and pipe water to tap stands right next to these women’s homes. We can bring time, energy and a better future to 100,000 people in Mali and Niger.

Help me play a small part in changing the lives of women in the Sahel -- donate to my campaign.

100% of everything we raise will directly fund water projects. And when those projects are finished, charity: water will send us proof in pictures and GPS coordinates, so we can see the actual people and communities we impacted.