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.

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!

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.

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

$3,275!

The total is now up to $3,275! Thank you everyone.! It is confirmed that we can go on an expedition to Guatemala next year to help build another water project. The dates will be December 26, 2008 - Jan. 2, 2009. If you have any specific expertise - medical, building, etc., these skills can be incorporated into the projects we do on the expedition. Let me know if you are interested.

$2,895

We have a total of $2,895 so far and that is without a few more contributions that I know will be coming in. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Everyone has been so generous and I can't thank you enough. We have excess of what is needed for this project so I will find another project to apply the excess funds to. I will keep accepting donations through the holiday season. Any donations received after December 31st will be applied to next year's projects. If you are interested in going with me to Guatemala next year, let me know and it might be possible to see this finished water system as well as work hands-on with another project.

$1,895

Our current total is $1,895. We just have a little way to go and it will happen. This week as you sit down to dinner with loved ones and express gratitude for what you have please think about giving a little to those who don't have basic needs. Thank you so much for making this dream come true!