about Thanks For Water

Thanks for Water is a yearly fundraiser that began in 2007. I decided then that I wanted to build a water project in a third world country every year for the rest of my life. Each year around Thanksgiving time I ask friends and family to donate to a specific project. Donations are collected through CHOICE Humanitarian and are tax deductible. Please help me to help others.

March 14, 2012

pi(e) day 2012

Today is 3.14 - or pi. So today is pi day or pie day. In years past I have had a pi(e) party where people come over for pie and donate a piece of their pie to these water projects. We are not able to have an actual party this year, but I would like to invite everyone to donate some spare change or a piece of your "pie" today to Thanks for Water. Just $5 or $10 or any other amount from many people will go a long way.

Please check back to the blog for an update as Juan, the director for the projects in Mexico, is going to be giving me an update soon. They have stretched the money we have given so far - way beyond what I ever thought we could. I'm excited to see a progress report. I hope you will join me in sharing a piece of the pie. Thanks and Happy Pi(e) Day!

December 22, 2010

lucky 13

The work in Mexico has really boomed. They have completed a total of 13 water cisterns already and they are still going! They have really leveraged the funds that we have sent to build this many cisterns. We are still collecting funds to keep these cistern projects going in Mexico as there is a great need there and they are able to work efficiently to bring about these projects.

Thank you to all who have helped to bring the gift of clean water to other people throughout the world. Clean water helps to prevent many diseases that affect people in developing countries and is one of the first steps out of poverty.

Thank you for supporting these efforts and making life a little better for others. Click on the "donate now" tab for instructions and a link to donate. I will post some pictures from the latest projects soon.

March 9, 2010

March 2010 Update

It is time for an update!

This is information on what has been happening on this current project(s):

Juan (in-country director) is using “Thanks for Water” funds in the villages of Morones and Margaritas. Here are some of the details:


They build 3 cisterns at a time because the iron net and chicken wire come in rolls sufficient for three.
The cost of three cisterns is $1300.

Some of the “thanks for water” money went to build and repair cisterns in Morones (6 have been built so far). It will take $5200 more to complete the cisterns in Morones.
The other money has been deposited into a special account where the Mexican government can now deposit a matching grant. As soon as the government matches the “Thanks for Water” donations, work will begin in Margaritas. So, every “Thanks for Water” donation is being doubled! Once the money is in, Juan will be able to know how much money is still needed to complete all the cisterns in Margaritas. His guess right now is $4900 for phase 1.

August 5, 2009

Thanks for Marriage

I'm getting married! to Greg Neil! on August 29th! You can find out all about it on our blog - The Neil Deal. Since we both already have too much stuff, we are asking people to donate to this cause. We have already raised $1,660. We just need $5,840 more and we can get these villages in Mexico their water system. Any extra donations will go toward other projects. I will keep everyone up to date on what is happening. Hopefully we can celebrate the joining of our lives by helping provide a better life for other people.

March 7, 2009

a piece of the pi

March 14th is pi(e)day (3.14)

To celebrate I am having people over to my place to share a piece of the pie. I will provide various pies and ask others to bring pies to share as well as bring a $5, $10or larger donation (a piece of their pie) to share with our friends in Mexico to help them build this water project.

If anyone is reading this and can't make it to the pie party, please feel free to donate that day in order to share your piece of the pie.

I can't help but think of how much impact this would be if we combined our efforts and spread the word. I really want this to be about a lot of people giving a little. Think about how easy this would be - so far we have raised $1,315 and counting. That leaves $6,185 left to go. If $618 people donate $10 on March 14th then this project can begin! So please pass along the word. The information for donation is in the previous post. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment.

THANKS! and happy pi(e) day!

November 19, 2008

2008 / 2009 = Mexico

UPDATE: the donation site is back up again! If you tried to donate on the site before and there was any kind of error message but it still said it went through - more than likely it has not. Let me know if you are wondering if your donation has cleared or not and I can check.

I'm so excited to announce this year's project. We will be raising money for small villages in San Luis Potosi, Mexico called El Tecolote and Las Margaritas. This is a very dry area and water is scarce. They would like to build a project which would include 3 water cisterns and an animal corral structure with a large roof that will provide for a water catchment system to harvest rainwater. The estimated cost for this full project is $7,500.

The people in these villages are Huichole Indians - native to Mexico. They have their own language and culture. Here is some more information about them:

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/huichol/huicholindex.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huichol

http://www.webspawner.com/users/bluedeer/

Once again - I want this to be a fundraising effort where many, many people each give a little to make a big difference. Please give what you feel comfortable with from $10 to $100 to $1,000 and then pass along this blog to everyone you know. We can make a huge difference just by spreading the word.

to donate (your donation is tax deductible):

Click the link below to the CHOICE Humanitarian website to make a one time donation. Be sure to type "Thanks for Water" in the "comments" box in order for the money to go directly to this water project and so I can track the progress.


ONLINE DONATION - CLICK HERE

or if you prefer to send a check you can download a donation form and mail it with a check:

PRINTABLE DONATION FORM - CLICK HERE

This is starting during the Thanksgiving season but we will keep accepting donations until we reach our goal. Please help me fulfill my dream of building a water project every year for the rest of my life. I can't do this without you, but working together we can help so many people.

THANKS,

Judy

p.s. I will be traveling to Nueva Concepcion in Guatemala next month to see the water project from last year. I am so excited to meet the people there and see the project. I will post pictures when I get back. My hope is to travel to these villages in Mexico next year to see their finished project.

If you have any questions please post a comment.

June 15, 2008

FLOW

For Love of Water

I recently went to a private screening of the documentary - FLOW (For Love of Water)

There was so much information and I encourage anyone to see this as soon as it hits theaters in the fall. One thing that was brought up in the film is that there are many areas in the world where the access to public water has been taken over by private companies. These companies are charging the people to have access to the clean water. Since many of these people cannot afford this payment, they are forced to get their water from dirty or contaminated sources.

You can help by signing the petition to add a 31st article to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, establishing access to clean water as a fundamental human right. Go HERE to sign the petition.

I'll write more about the film and the information I learned at another time, but you can get more information from their website: FLOW