I first witnessed the wonder that is the New York City marathon nearly ten years ago. I was visiting the city with two of my sisters and we stood transfixed in Central Park as thousands of runners made their final way up the west side of the park to the finish line. I remember being deeply moved by the runners' resilience and being swept up in the beauty and energy of it all. I hoped one day I would get the chance to run the race myself.

charity: water has been on my radar for years. In college, my eyes were opened to the worldwide water crisis through a student organization called Honduras Project. We successfully fundraised a gravity fed water system in a rural Honduran community and were able to see firsthand the lasting impact of clean water.

771 million people on the planet don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water. The water crisis disproportionately affects women and girls as they are the ones who are typically responsible for water collection. This means every day, women and girls lose 200 million hours walking for water — time that would otherwise be spent attending school, playing, earning an income, and parenting their kids.

Being the third of four sisters, the statistics against women and girls in these communities are particularly devastating to me. Thankfully charity: water partners with local organizations around the world to implement sustainable, community-led water projects. It costs only $40 on average to bring clean water to one person and $10,000 to fund a water project for an entire community in Malawi — this is my fundraising goal!

100% of all public donations to charity: water fund these clean water projects which means every dollar you donate will improve health, empower women, and enable girls to go to school which altogether boosts local economies.

I would be so thankful if you joined me in this effort to have a life changing impact on these communities, these mothers, daughters, sisters and friends.

xo—
Marisa

P.S. If you want to follow along on my training journey, you can find me on Strava. For every donation over $200, I'll give a personal shoutout. :)