Where charitable donations and grocery shopping meet
On Thursday, I mentioned an idea I was going to implement this month, an idea that would help me come up with some money to donate to Living Water.
This is my plan: for the month of December, I'm going to give myself my usual $400 grocery budget, but I'm going to try really hard to come in under $400 at the end of the month. Any money that's left out of that $400 is going straight to Living Water.
I don't know exactly how much I'll be able to donate, but even if I'm only able to send $10, that's still something. In fact, that $10 will provide clean drinking water for 10 people for an entire year. And for those 10 people, the $10 I send will rock their worlds.
We can change more people's lives, though, if you join me. Even if you don't usually have extra money to give, this might be a somewhat painless way to come up with some money to donate.
Maybe for the month of December, you could drink water instead of soda so that you can help provide clean water to someone who has none.
Or maybe you could give up bottled water and instead you could buy a pitcher with a filter (that'll save you lots of money!).
Maybe you could skip out on some coffee-drinking, maybe you could cut back on your food waste, maybe you could eat vegetarian once a week, or maybe you could eat breakfast for dinner a couple of times.
Suffice it to say that there are lots of ways that you could save $10 (or more!) this month without starving yourself or your family. So come join me! Together, we can make a huge difference.
( P.S.-I hope you know that I know that Living Water is not the only deserving charity out there. There are plenty of worthy charities that spend the donated money wisely, so if Living Water doesn't blow your hair back, go do some homework and find a charity that does.)
Though I was never much of a bottled water drinker, I cannot say enough how great a filtered pitcher is. We have a Brita one we bought a little over 4 years ago, and it is still going strong. And if someone wanted to pick one up on the cheap, I see like-new (and sometimes brand new) ones at the thrift store frequently. Duplicate wedding gifts, I wonder? My mom was able to pick up a nice new Brita pitcher at the thrift store a few weeks ago for $2.
If you are buying water filters for your pitcher or faucet, it is much cheaper to buy them at a warehouse store (BJ's, Costco, Sam's) than at a smaller store in small quantities. The filters do not go bad over times so there is no reason not to get them in larger quantities.
Kristen, I'm truly touched by your innovative way to give to others less fortunate than ourselves. You've inspired me. Haven't picked my charity yet, but the remainder of my $200/month grocery budget will be going to help others. Thanks for the gentle, thoughtful reminder that no matter how bad we think we have it, there are others struggling to find fresh water, feed their families and find safe shelter. Best to you, Amy
Kristin,
Thanks for sharing about this organization. I saw a previous post you made about this. It seems like a wonderful organization that helps a lot of poverty stricken countries, as well as sharing the gospel.
They have a gift card program
http://www.water.cc/give/gift-card-center/
Which I decided I will combine with some gifts to my parents, as I know they will appreciate this.
Thanks for sharing.
I just wanted to thank you for bringing Living Water to my attention. For such a small amount we can make a tremendous difference. I immediately donated upon reading about it. Thank you!