Partnership with schools in India- H2O for Life on a National Telethon!

H2O for Life is taking the challenge to be part of the "Support my Schools" campaign in India.  We have partnered with 9 schools that need water, sanitation and hygiene education.  Take a look at the video below.
It was an honor to be mentioned on National Indian television. 

You can help- Donations may be made for schools in India.  Donate now on our website.

http://www.ndtv.com/micro/supportmyschool/voices.aspx?id=211148&pg=1&title=H2o_for_life__Providing_clean_water_to_schools

Life Soap supports H2O for Life!

Colorado State University graduates Juwon Melvin and Aaron Madonna, both 25, grew up in Denver's Montbello neighborhood. They met at a precollegiate summer program called Black Issues Forum. Personal hardships, including Melvin's father abandoning his family when Melvin was 8, and Madonna watching friends get caught up in gangs and drugs, inspired their volunteerism.


Their plan to help crystallized while Melvin traveled in Morocco, where he witnessed children who couldn't go to school because they had to walk for miles each day to find clean water.

"Education was the way out for us, and it can be the way out for the children we want to serve," Madonna said. "But when you are in survival mode and don't have basic needs met, you can't focus on school or take advantage of the opportunities it can give you."

Juwon called H2O for Life during the summer, and expressed their desire to support water projects in developing countries through a connection with H2O for Life in Nicaragua.  They have chosen two schools in Nicaragua to benefit from their business plan.  Thus far, the young men have raised $2000 and are on their way to their goal to raise $5000 for the schools.  To read more, click on the link below. 

http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_18879876#ixzz1Y4RN2my3

Startling Water Facts!

As the school year begins, please take a look at updated Water Statistics!!



Can  you imagine?
Across the world, about 884 million people suffer from a lack of access to water that is safe.



More than 3.5 million people will die every year due to sickness that is water-related.



A child dies from a water-related disease every 20 seconds.



Diarrhea kills more children under the age of 5 than malaria, measles, and AIDS combined; about 1.5 million each year.



Compared to richer people residing in the same city, less wealthy people are forced to pay between 5 to 10 times more for a liter of water.



An American who takes a shower lasting just five minutes already utilizes more water than an average person who lives in the slum of a developing country does in one entire day.



In the human body, more than 60 percent is made up of water.



While 75 percent of the surface of the globe is covered in water, 98 percent of that is unfit for drinking because it is saltwater.



An average human can only last for about a week without drinking any water.



Almost 4 trillion gallons of water are consumed in America each month.



A typical American utilizes 176 gallons of water every day, while the typical African family utilizes just 5 gallons of water every day.

(statistics provided by Seametrics)

We can change these statistics by funding water projects at schools in need around the world.  Please choose a school project today.  Learn about the global water crisis, and the actions that YOU can take to make a difference today, and every day!

Clean Water Fuels Education:

Over the summer, Chris Olmanson, a sophomore at Boston College completed an internship at the H2O for Life offices in White Bear Lake, MN.  Chris did every job that needed to be done. He stuffed envelopes, glued packets as needed, developed an amazing lesson plans for geography, created a college outreach program for our website complete with instructions on how to build your website to link to H2O for Life, and lastly, wrote a blog that he submitted to our good friends at Youth Service America.  His blog appears below.  We will miss Chris as he returns to BC, and wish him a fun-filled successful year at school.  Last year, Chris and his friends raised over $2500 for a school in Tanzania.  We wonder what he will do this year?  Any ideas, Chris? 

Clean Water Fuels Education

 Editor’s Note: As students head back to school, YSA is highlighting education and service in our Back to School Education blog series. Read blog posts from students, educators, and service-learning experts about their experiences with education and service.


Chris Olmanson discovered his passion for serving others through the nonprofit, all-volunteer organization H2O for Life. He has organized three H2O for Life fundraisers, the first two at Wayzata High School in Minnesota and the most recent at Boston College (BC) in Massachusetts. He is a sophomore at BC, planning to major in international studies with a focus on social justice issues. Patty Hall, Co-founder of H2O for Life, also wrote blog post for our Education series and it is posted in an earlier post.
Everything started in 11th grade when I found out that my high school had partnered with a nonprofit called H2O for Life and we were supposed to raise $5,000 for a school in the Philippines that needed clean and accessible water. My high school needed suggestions to raise funds and I had an idea that could potentially work. I was a cross-country runner and baseball player up to this point in high school, but because of seasons riddled with injuries, I did not performed near the level that I had dreamed. In all honesty, I saw this opportunity as a way to make a name for myself, to do something significant after a slow-start to high school, and to have something to put on my college resume. Man, did I get way more in return.



I asked my brother and close friend for help to organize a walk-a-thon fundraiser. We gathered a group of students to walk two miles to and from school each day in December to raise money for H2O for Life. We received an overwhelming response as we ended up raising $25,000, allowing us to provide several more schools with water systems. H2O for Life then provided us with photos of the children that we were helping and pen pal letters from the students at the Philippines school. It was incredible because we had changed the lives of real kids! Before the water system, the kids walked hours every day to retrieve contaminated water; wasting time that could be spent in the classroom learning and often getting sick from this water. Also without accessible latrines, girls would often stop going to school once they reached puberty. It was incredible to think that our little fundraiser could change all of this.



I felt like I had a legitimate purpose in life through this fundraiser and wanted to continue my work, so we did it again my senior year and then I did one my freshman year in college. I definitely felt like there were kids depending on me to do this. I am planning on majoring in International Studies with a focus on social justice issues and I am particularly interested in helping solve the global water crisis. H2O for Life was a phenomenal charity to work with and I have them to thank for developing my passion to serve.