Just five bucks is enough to give clean water to one person. For an entire lifetime.

Three thousand bucks is enough to provide a well to an entire village.

If you think that’s unbelievable, check out these statistics:

* Less than 1% of the world’s fresh water is readily accessible for direct human use.
* Almost a BILLION people lack access to safe water supplies–roughly one in eight people.
* 3.575 MILLION people die each year from water-related disease.
* 84% of water-related deaths are children ages 0-14.
* A child dies every 15 seconds from water born diseases.
* An American taking a five-minute shower uses more than the typical person living in a developing country slum uses in an entire day.
* About a third of people without access to an improved water source live on less than $1 a day; more than two-thirds: less than $2.
* Without water, a person can expect to live a few days.

The average American uses 170 gallons of water per day.

Fortunately, there are organizations dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the growing, yet solvable, global water crisis. In this post, I will put the spotlight on …

Thirst Aid Live

A series of concerts, television programs and large-scale national and international events, Thirst Aid Live exists to live responsibly locally, raise awareness nationally, and give back globally. Celebrity musicians, actors, athletes and citizens have banded together with Thirst Aid Live‘s nonprofit partners to quench world thirst.

I had the opportunity to speak to Thirst Aid Live‘s Denise Russo, an energetic and very inspiring woman who believes, “If you want something in your world to change, then you must be an agent of that change.” Motivated by the collective efforts of people making those changes, she’s now leading projects for Haiti that go beyond just water. “I am simply a vessel using my God-given talents for making a difference for our Earth and global neighbors.”

How you can help:

* Empower yourself with the mind frame to conserve water daily. For ideas, check out this Thirst Aid Live Toolkit.
* Donate to Thirst Aid Live (operated by Vessel H2O) — remember, just 5 bucks gives one person clean water for life!
* Shop green at myEARTH360.com –one “lifetime” of water will be given to Thirst Aid Live for every 50 bucks spent. Just enter THIRSTAID20 at checkout.
* Purchase a Thirst Aid Live t-shirt or water bottle–a portion of proceeds will benefit water crisis organizations.
* Follow Thirst Aid Live on twitter and become a facebook fan.

I don’t know about you, but now I’m thirsty. Before grabbing a glass of water, imagine what five bucks could mean to one person’s chance for a better life… something as simple as quenching some thirst.

Look for more water related posts throughout the next couple of weeks.