charity:water CaraBrobst

Hi, Kara. I am so excited to have you join our Gifting Brands charity auction that starts next week on Monday and runs through Giving Tuesday. And I'm thrilled because Charity Water has been one of the charities that we've supported over the past couple of years and it's one of the our customers favorite charities. You know, gifting brands. We have a website where we sell beautiful jewelry and products that is all donated by brands and the proceeds then go back to several charities that we support. And Charity Water is one of those. And now we're doing this amazing auction that starts next week. I would love to hear more about your story. How long have you been with Charity Water and why Charity Water? Why did you choose to work there?

Yeah, and first I just wanted to thank you for chatting with me and then also for having us be a part of the auction. We're really grateful to be able to build our impact together in that way. And I think it's just such a cool way to get people involved and for people to learn about other charities as well.

Our customers love Charity Water and love what you're doing because you do have this model of 100%, which I know you'll talk about, and I think that's really important.

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. So actually that is even part of the reason why I love Charity Water. So I've been at Charity Water for four years now. I am on our brand partnerships team. So I work with really awesome brands of all sizes and helping them to build their impact and to bring clean water to people around the world. And so I get to work on really cool things like this auction or other campaigns and just really spreading our message about the water crisis and helping people get clean water through the brands that we work with. And it's really, really exciting. So, yeah, so part of the reason I wanted to work at Charity Water is because of the organization itself. I can talk about kind of like a few of our pillars that I really love. The first is our 100% model. Like you mentioned, 100% of all public donations go directly to funding clean water projects. We have a really generous group of individuals and families that cover all of our overhead operations. So anything from like my salary to the computer we're chatting on down to the credit card fees on the website. All of that is covered by a group we lovingly call the well because we love water puns at Charity Water, of course. So the well covers our overhead operations and so 100% of everything that is donated by the public, including everything donated from the auction will. 100% of that will go to the water projects. So that's part of it. I love that charity water. What drew me in was the focus on positivity and hope. We really believe that the water crisis is something that we can solve, and so we want to inspire people and excite people to come along and help us solve that crisis. Yeah. And I think the other thing and how I kind of initially found charity water in the beginning was that, you know, I think clean water and clean drinking water is something that we all take for granted, and I will admit to that myself. And so, you know, if you think about how many taps are in your house, from all your faucets to, you know, your shower heads and things like that, to if you live in a home, you may have, like, a garden hose outside, all of that is clean, potable water. And to learn that people around the world don't have access to clean water in the way that we do, I think really shook me in a way. And then this opportunity popped up, and I'm lucky enough to be a part of the team now. I think access to clean water is a right and something we all deserve, and I think that's something everybody can agree on. And so that's what really drew me into the organization.

Our customers depend on us that they want to give back to charities that really are making a difference. And our pillars are really women and children. And a big part of what drew me to. To your organization is the 100% model, because I know that our donations. 100% of what we donate to you directly impacts women and children. And I know that it's the women and the children that are the ones that are having to go fetch water for mil, which keeps kids out of school. So can you talk a little bit about that?

Absolutely. So there are a few different ways that not having access to clean water largely impacts families and communities and individuals. The first, I think, is probably what most people think of would be your health. Right. So we're talking about people walking to collect water, but the water that they're collecting is still contaminated and has diseases and has things in it that make them sick. And so they're not only having to spend their time, but their money going to clinics, finding medicine that they might not be able to afford. And then, unfortunately, some of them aren't able to get that care that they need. And so when a community gets access to clean water, that changes. They're able to have their health change. They don't have to spend that time and money at the clinics. And so that really helps life improve just from that. But as you mentioned, there are a couple other things. So the water crisis is really a women and girls issue. Predominantly women aren't the ones that are going to collect water. They're spending hours every single day to collect that water for their families, and so they don't have for themselves. So when a community gets access to clean water, they get all that time back and they get to invest that in themselves, in them, in their families, and they get to really focus on that future that they deserve and invest in themselves. So that's a huge part of it. And like you mentioned as well, girls are often tasked with the job of going to get clean water as well. They go with their mothers or sometimes they go by themselves. And so that means that they're not getting to spend that time in school and they're not able to get the education they deserve. Or also we see a lot of schools that don't have access to clean water. So what that means for young girls is that they oftentimes have to spend a week out of the month while they have their periods at home. And so when they're staying home for a week out of the month, they fall behind and then they drop out of school. So we, we also bring clean water to schools as well so that girls can go to school, get the education they deserve, and then everybody has more opportunities, which is really awesome.

So we have the opportunity to help build a well in Malawi. Can you talk a little bit about that? The impact that you're making is amazing. You know, buying one piece of jewelry really does make a difference, you know, over time. And in fact, a big part of your donor base is from a group called the Spring, where they give a small amount, or you even have people who give their their birthday, they donate. Instead of getting presents, they donate to Charity Water. Can you talk a little bit about both of those?

Yeah, I can start with the piece about people giving up their birthdays. That's actually how Charity Water started. So our founder, Scott Harrison, when he was starting the organization, he was realizing that clean water was really the thing that was going to help people improve their lives. He decided to throw a birthday party for himself and donate all the money and all the entry fees from his birthday to water. And that's how he started the organization. And so that's a really cool way that we continue to see people get involved in the organization. They give up their birthdays. We also see really creative ways. Like people, we have A really awesome team that run a bunch of races around the US and around the world and they fundraise through that. And so we see really young kids, sometimes they host concerts or they sell their art or host lemonade stand. So that's a really awesome way that people can get involved if they're, they're looking to do that. And then also yeah, we have a really amazing group of individuals that we again lovingly called the spring for our water pond there. But so that's our group of monthly donors. So they choose to make a donation to charity Water every month to bring clean water to people in need. And so that works the same way as your subscription for Netflix or Hulu or any of those things would work. But instead of getting a service, you are bringing clean water to people in need. So we, we love all those ways that people can get involved. And you all have gotten involved through your organization, which is really amazing. It's another way people can get involved. You very generously sponsored an entire water project. So yes. You sponsored a well with a hand pump in Malawi and you brought clean water to 395 people, which is pretty amazing. I think you should be really, really proud of that impact. It's so cool and I hopefully cool for your community to hear as well.

It's really our customers who purchase and you know, we're such a wonderful group of customers who want to give back. How much fun is it to shop and know that it's that we're giving back. In fact, tomorrow we're doing a pop up event here in Dallas and I love doing these pop up events because I get to meet the customers, they get to get excited about the charities and that we're partnering with. And you know, it's fun because it's a double gift, especially our auction. Most of the auction items that we have you can buy for yourself or they're great gifts. We have some really wonderful gift packages and you can keep some for yourself, you can give them away. But we have gift cards, we've got jewelry, we've got handbags, we've got Dior and vacations and it all goes back to charity. So if you think about giving a gift for Christmas, you know what a great idea to give back a gift that you bought from our auction to someone and when they open it you can say, I chose charity water as the recipient and this is going to help build wells around the world. I mean that person who's getting that gift is going to remember that and it's going to Be special. And some of the gift cards we have are lucky brand, Aeropostale Forever 21 Brooks Brothers, Sally Beauty, Tori Richard Nautica. I'm forgetting a few, but there are great gift cards that you can give as well. Or vacations. Do a family vacation, we've got a Disney vacation, we've got golf vacations, we've got beach vacations. But when you take that vacation, the feeling that you have knowing that, you know, buying a vacation helps a substantial amount to go towards building a well. So it's just, it's a fun way. And that's why I love doing this is, is I get to use my skills in retail. That was my career and now I get to do it to help the world be a better place. And so I just love it. So if you are thinking about it, you don't know what to buy for a gift. Go to our auction and we'll have things that you will want to buy.

I was just going to add to that that not only are you buying a gift for someone else, but you're giving the gift of clean water. I was gonna share a kind of interesting stat that I think so for us, $40 is the cost to bring clean water to one person. So through your previous well, you, you brought clean water to 395 people. And so I kind of also just wanted to share our overall impact as an organization and your, your project included. We've to date built 137,015 projects. We brought clean water to almost 17 and a half million people and built projects in 29 different countries around the world. And the reason I say projects is because sometimes we are funding wells like the one that you all sponsored. But we work in all these countries around the world and in those countries we don't go in and do the work ourselves. We work with local NGOs and organizations who are doing the work. They're oftentimes indigenous to the areas where the projects are being built. They are best suited to understand the terrain and the climate and the communities themselves. And they really help find the best solution for that community. And so what that means is sometimes it could be a well with a hand pump. Sometimes in hilly places with Nepal it could be a, a gravity fed system where we're pulling water from the top of a mountain and feeding it down to the community level. It could be something like a pipe system with tap sands where we're using a solar powered system to pull the water up from the ground and then distribute it to almost a household level. So yeah, we really want to make sure that the community is set up for success, that they have access to clean water for as long as possible. So we work really closely with our partners on the ground to find the best solution. And so also we. I wanted to share that we also invested not just in building the project, but also making sure that the project lasts as long as possible, like I mentioned. So the sustainability of our work, we go in and do checks on our projects. We also have local engineers on the ground, so if something goes wrong, we can go out and service a project. And then we also have a really awesome sensor program. So we've built and developed these sensors that go on some of our water projects. Hopefully soon all of our water projects. But what they do is it's kind of just like a plastic, plastic box. But it's really awesome because the technology inside monitors the water when it's flowing, how much is flowing, when it's being pumped, how many liters. And we can track and see that on our data on our end and kind of is supposed to work like a check engine light. So where if something goes wrong or that data changes, we can go out and service the project before it breaks down and that community loses access to clean water. So we're really involved in and invested in the life cycle of the project. And yeah, I just wanted to let you all know that our work is. Doesn't just stop once the project is built.

Do you have any stories from people in the community who have benefited from that that you would want to share?

Yeah, we have so many amazing stories. I think one of my favorite story, the, the story that like sticks with me the most is of a woman named Helen. Helen. Community didn't have access to clean water when we first arrived and we started talking to the community and as we were there, she got access to clean water. And so we were talking to her after the fact and she just had like the biggest smile on and she was so excited. And the quote that sticks with me is that I, I felt beautiful for the first time. So you think about not having access to clean water and not being able to drink clean water and, and you're thirsty or you're not able to wash all your dishes or wash your clothes, but then you don't think about like the bathing part and so her being able to have enough water to take a bath and to feel clean and to feel beautiful and that affecting how she felt from the inside out and her mental health. Yeah, I think that's one of the most powerful Stories for me personally.

Well, when you change one child or even one woman's life, it changes their generation. It affects the whole family, and it affects the future of their, you know, their children's children. And so it really does make a difference. Like that $40 gift that you're giving now multiply as, you know, as these wells are built. And having that clean water, it gives them the opportunity to stay in school, get an education, and then it changes the trajectory of their lives and their future family as a child. So it really is a magnifying effect which you don't think about at the time, but it really does make a difference, you know, so people sometimes think, oh, you know, like voting. Sometimes people think, my vote doesn't make a difference. Your donation of $25, $40 truly does make a difference, and it does make an impact.

It's actually really interesting you mentioned that after that story, specifically because we actually had the chance to go back into Helen's community. With that time that she got back, she was able to not only invest in herself, but her community. We interviewed and talked to so many of the community members that told us that she helped them understand the importance of clean water and how to invest in ourselves and how to use that time back. And so it really is. Is a ripple effect, like you said.

Yeah, it definitely is. So other ways we can help to make a difference and to help charity water hit your goals, like, what are. What is your. What are your big goals? What are the two or three things that as an organization are truly focused on? Are there big projects you're working on that we can get involved in? If you can give us a little color to that.

Yeah. So every year we have a set number of projects that we're hoping to build, and we also have a number of people that we're hoping to bring clean water to. And so those are our biggest goals. For us, it's really not about the fundraising, but about how many people we can bring clean water to. So that's our biggest goal. So really, it might sound silly, but anyway, or any amount that you all can get involved or give to charity water is going to make a difference. So if you are open to donating your birthday, like I mentioned, or joining the spring on a monthly basis, that's an incredible way to help. If you have a business that you want to get involved, if you know somebody else that might want to be interested in what we do. But I think the other biggest thing is just kind of spreading the word and sharing about charity water. And also just the water crisis in general. I think so many people are not aware there are so many issues in the world. And because we're lucky enough to have access to clean water, it might not be in somebody's mind that somebody around the world doesn't have that same access. So yeah, just, just sharing about our work and the water crisis is really the best way that you could get involved and to help.

So one of the other ways is if you shop at our website giftingbrands.com charity water is one of our year round partners and this option is a great way because you can select Charity Water when you go to the auction, you just have a dropdown. It says select your charity. You select Charity Water and then whether you just do a straight cash donation that goes to Charity Water or whether you buy the products, the proceeds from those products also go to Charity Water. So we're really excited about the auction. We think that it gives everyone such a fun way to give a gift or even a gift for yourself. My birthday is actually on Monday so I'm going to be buying the auction. Actually I'm really eyeing the Dior beauty set behind me. Other projects that have been donated, other items that are being donated, Some of the baccarat, we have a very large selection of Baccarat jewelry and which if you don't know Baccarat, they are a fine jewelry company based in France. They are amazing. We have brands like Talbots and Kendra Scott and Loft and Christie Jean and Rocksbox and many jewelry brands. Charles and Kovar Kay jewelers Levy on. We have some amazing, amazing gift items that you can bid on for the auction. So we're really excited about that. The auction starts Monday the 20th and it runs through Giving Tuesday. So for those of you who are thinking about giving for Giving Tuesday, now you have a way you can actually buy a gift for somebody and give back for giving Tuesday, which is the 28th. So it ends on last days on Giving Tuesday. And again, you can either donate directly donate cash to Charity Water or you can purchase a gift or you can do both. So we're really excited. We love the work you're doing. Our customers are thrilled to support Charity Water and we just really want to be here for the future and help continue to build more wealth.

Thank you so much and thank you to everybody who's already helped contribute to the the projects. Everybody who's thinking about buying something on the auction. We're just really grateful that you all are such champions for our work. So thanks again for including us.

You're so welcome. Thank you for being on, and I look forward to chatting with you in the future and talking about all the different wells and things that we can build other.

Me too. Thanks so much, Jeannie.

Take care.

Bye.