One rainy day in July, PlayPumps International learned about a very generous lemur.

Forest, to be precise, “Forest (the lemur) Alley” gave us a $100 donation.

The domesticated primate, which belongs to celebrity Kirstie Alley (remember Cheers? Look Who’s Talking?) was one of several hundred supporters who contributed $28,000 during the tireless, 24-hour Twitterthon which history now knows as Aquathon 2009.

While PlayPumps International certainly thanks Alley (and Forest) for lending her esteemed persona to a day of charitable tweets, Aquathon would never have happened were it not for an ordinary person just like you.

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We love small world stories here at PlayPumps International. It makes our day when the stars align and everything comes to a full circle. With Weather Pending, it did just that.

Last month, the new indie band from San Francisco, California, reached out to us to see if we were interested in partnering with them on their first album. How could we say no to lovely music to help us further our cause?

It wasn’t until I was speaking with lead vocalist Janie Oliver last month that I heard how she originally found out about PlayPumps. Not long ago, Janie’s aunt Peggy Krist was giving a presentation about the Jonathan D. Krist Foundation’s partnership with PlayPumps International. Since Jonathan Krist’s passing in 2006, his family has become key partners of PlayPumps International through their family foundation.

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Now that June has ended, we like to reflect on the brilliant and innovative fundraising events that people held in the PlayPumps International community that month – case in point, an event at No 11 Downing Street in London!

On June 11, 2009, Maggie Darling, wife of Right Honorable Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, hosted a reception with Virginia Prifti to honor and support Lawrence’s Roundabout Well Appeal. The appeal was held in honor of Virginia’s son, Lawrence, who passed away in 2005 from Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare genetic degenerative condition. Lawrence was only eight-years-old.

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Great news from the PlayPumps International community: Australia has funded its first PlayPump® water system! It looks like there is also sufficient money to fund the first Skyhydrant™ water purification unit.

One Water, created by Duncan Goose, donates the profits from sales of its bottled water to fund PlayPump® water systems. Just a few years since its launch in the UK, One Water has achieved great success, donating more than 100 PlayPump® systems. Last year they leveraged this momentum, entering into the global marketplace, including the U.S. and Australia.

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You may recall that when Campaign:Malawi took off last March, we held a t-shirt contest. With the contest now complete, we're ready to announce its winners, each of whom will receive a limited edition t-shirt from our partner Digital Gravel and the DG Water Project.

So without further ado, they are: Phil from Pennsylvania, Kate from Massachusetts, Alex from Washington, Kristen from Pennsylvania and Clint from Oklahoma.

And how did they hear about PlayPumps International? Well, we'll tell you, but while it's on your mind (and if you're logged into Twitter), why not tweet about how you learned about PlayPumps International by clicking here.

Phil learned about the PlayPump® water system from research he was doing for an Engineering Design class project. Who said research was boring?

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PlayPumps International U.S. is very pleased to announce that long-standing partner Duncan Goose, founder of Global Ethics and One Water, received the 2009 London & South East Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (EOY).

As many of you know, Duncan’s UK-based One Water has been instrumental in helping PlayPumps install PlayPump® water systems throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Launched in 2005, all profits from One Water sales go directly to building PlayPump® water systems. One Water believes in the power of clean water for children and communities. "When you drink ONE, Africa drinks two."

In fact, Global Ethics just funded its 300th pump!

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The PlayPumps International community never ceases to inspire us. From actors who champion the water cause, to garage bands that pump out a charity hit single, we’ve tapped into some creative minds.But few things compare to a school in America providing safe, clean drinking water to a school in Africa.This is why we were thrilled to learn that New Jersey’s Chestnut Ridge Middle School, along with others in the Gloucester County area, raised $8,302 for our Campaign Malawi!Their local campaign included a clean-up at a local elementary school -- where they sold 400 anti-poverty wrist bands -- musical performances, a school dance and (my personal favorite) a milk mustache fundraiser.Milk mustaches. Brilliant.The fundraiser consisted of other reliable events, like a well-attended school car wash, and the students received additional support from the Chestnut Ridge administration and county officials. However, we agree that creativity like this...

Water is Life

Water is life. It is as simple as that. Our mission is to provide schools and communities in Africa with access to this most basic resource. And in just over a week, we get to commemorate our favorite time of year.

On Sunday, March 22nd, the world will commemorate the 16th annual observance of World Water Day. It's a time to discuss global water issues and remember the many people who do not have access to water.

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Sign up for our free online newsletter and enter to win one of 10 limited edition "DG WATER PROJECT" shirts from our Campaign: Malawi partner Digital Gravel.

THE DG WATER PROJECT features custom, water-inspired, graphic shirts, with all profits going to help fund a PlayPump® water system.  Sign up today: www.playpumps.org/shirt

Everyday Should Be World Water Day

Diseases associated with water and sanitation continue to cause thousands of preventable deaths each day. About 135,000 children die each month, a disaster by anyone's standards. It is an interesting phenomenon that society pays attention to a natural disaster -- like an earthquake or a tsunami -- far differently than a silent, ongoing disaster that takes, steadily and relentlessly, more lives.

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