charitywater: The Campaign to Watch

When I first caught a glimpse of Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water on stage he struck me as someone who was very humble and the guy who always had a big grin on his face. I had heard via the grapevine that his company had the campaign to watch. It would be the one that was going to make a difference in the lives of many. I recently listened to Scott’s speech online, it was the one that he’d delivered for Big Omaha 2010 almost a year ago. These are the speeches that inspire, educate, and connect entrepreneurs, and appeal especially those with an interest in the tech industry. The Silicon Prairie News said it was one of the most powerful talks from the event. And before Scott’s arrival the small community had already raised $5,000 towards his clean water cause.

Scott talked about his childhood and his life before charity: water and taking care of his sick mother who had been affected by carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty furnace. At 18 he rebelled. He’d been overly responsible for too long and decided he needed to look after #1, joined a band and moved to New York City. His aspirations included becoming rich and famous, which ultimately lead to becoming a self-centered and self-absorbed young man. Next stop on the agenda? A career in nightlife; he started an upscale event planning and nightclub consultancy company. Although a lot of fun initially, it would be a career that after some thought and reflection, would clash with his values and make him question his life. Bigtime.

And then it happened. The bubble burst right in the middle of a party on a beach in Uruguay. At 28 years old, he had surrounded himself with all the cool people, recreational drug users, and heavy drinkers he had an empty feeling that this was not really the life he was meant to live. “I was chasing all of the wrong things – materialism and money — and I was selling a lifestyle of decadence and escapism for a living.” said Scott. So he turned to theology books and re-explored his faith as an antidote to his dilemma. Ultimately, the conclusion he arrived at was that he wanted to serve God and help the poor. Just how he would achieve that would turn out to be the most important leg of his journey.

Mercy Ships out of Texas is an organization that brings a floating hospital to the people who are sick and can’t afford medical treatment. Scott was hired become their photojournalist in West Africa and thus began the foray into volunteer work. The contrast of NYC to Liberia produced a culture shock: no public electricity, no running water, no sewage, and no mail. His job was to take pictures of children with facial tumors, flesh eating disease, facial reconstruction and clef lips and palates, and burn patients. The amazing surgeons were the volunteers who had given up their vacation time to help these people begin a new life.

The miracles were the transformations that took place between doctor and patient. Although drastic facial reconstruction was the reason for their visit an inner transformation took place as well. Scott was overcome with joy. To be able to see the children go home with a new face a few weeks later was defied words. Two years had gone by and he’d taken 50,000 photos. The sinking feeling Scott had never left him. It was not so much the patients that had been helped but rather the ones that they couldn’t. There were just too many.

After a two-year absence he returned to NYC he saw an opportunity to try to make a difference to raise money to help pay for the surgeries, bring about a better quality of life, provide access to clean water, and a better education. He formulated ideas to cultivate his dream. He was well connected to the right people in the world of nightclub consultancy and he saw how they could potentially help his cause. There was also the miracle that happened when Scott was in Africa; his mother recovered from her illness 28 years later.

Scott shares “I spent a year and a half volunteering for Mercy Ships and then I came back to New York and did a big exhibition in Chelsea, showcasing the photographs that I had taken on the ship. We raised about $96,000 and the idea of starting a charity came out of that experience – using photos to tell peoples stories and stimulating smart giving, and using the camera to prove how the money really made a difference in people’s lives.”

At 30 years old Scott had picked an issue, the issue of clean water. Clean water was the root cause of disease and the reason why some children weren’t able to get an education. Idea of charity: water was born. He wanted this to be a different kind of charity. After doing some research he came to the conclusion that there are one billion people who don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. In the spring of 2006, he launched the charity: water on his 31st birthday and invited 700 guests to in a nightclub in NYC and charged everyone $20 to get in. He raised $15,000 and took the money to fix three wells in Uganda and build three wells. After the party he sent pictures and the GPS coordinates to show people how their twenty dollars or their money had made a difference.

The message is clear:

Right now, more than 1.1 BILLION people in the world, mostly in developing nations, do not have access to clean, safe drinking water.

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation causes 80% of all sickness and disease, and kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Many people in the developing world, usually women and children, walk more than three hours every day to get unclean water. Those hours are crucial, preventing many from working or attending school.

Charity: water believes access to clean water is a fundamental human right. And they are doing something about that.

Since charity: water was founded and began activity in August 2006, we have funded the development of 200+ wells in 6 African nations through the work of exemplary humanitarian organizations like Living Water International, Concern Worldwide US, Healing Hands International, and Water For People. When completed, the wells will serve 100,000 people with clean, safe drinking water.

Charity: water’s brand is unique. The strategy connects the donor to the recipient through $20 e-cards for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Hanukkah, Christmas, Thermos allowed then design their products with charity: water’s branding, Toms shoes, free advertising through bus space, Financial Times home page, sold pictures in Chelsea Market, the PSA included Jennifer Connolly and American Idol debuted it in a million dollar time slot and was seen by 23 million people. The ad also appeared on the home page of YouTube, Hulu and RCN and Time Warner Networks. Corporate Sponsorship is a huge part of the organization with 100% of Public Donations going towards water and water projects.

In 2008 the organization ran out of money, and Scott boldly pitched to Facebook, MySpace and Bebo asking if the founders would be willing to give up their birthdays. Michael Birch of Bebo stepped up to the plate with a one million dollar donation to allow Scott to use the money as he saw fit.

Please visit charitywater.org to learn more about their work
and how you can further support this tremendous organization.