Raise a glass to clean water at Charlotte Twestival 2009

When: Thursday, February 12 – doors open at 6 p.m.
Where: CANS Bar & Canteen – 500 W. 5th St.
What: Food, fun and prizes

• Free nibbles provided by Charlotte Nightlife and CANS
• Emcee: Nate from 106.5 The End
  
• Raffles for entertainment, gifts and a cruise for two
• Local media celebrity appearances
  
• Wii bowling competition
• The great feeling you get when you do something nice

Buy tickets now. Prices start at $5. Special perks for VIPs!

100% of ticket price goes to Charity: Water

Imagine you’re thirsting for your favorite soda – let’s say it’s Dr. Pepper. You pull out a glass and add the perfect amount of crushed ice. Bliss is only seconds away when you pull open the fridge to find – nothing. You’re out of Dr. Pepper. Dang. Still thirsty, you press your glass to the water dispenser. You don’t even think about whether or not clear, clean water will fill it. In fact, all you’re thinking about is adding Dr. Pepper to your shopping list.

Lucky you.

On the other side of the world, a mother is just returning from her latest trip to the community water source – a stagnant, polluted swamp. As she tips a cup to her child’s chapped lips she silently prays that it will not sicken him. Sound dramatic? It is. It’s also realistic.

Around the globe, one in six people doesn’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. About 42,000 people die every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation. Most are under 5 years old.

Charity: Water was founded to help build safe, life-giving wells in underdeveloped nations. And you can contribute to the cause next week – Dr. Pepper in hand. Charlotte is one of almost 200 cities around the world hosting a twestival, a fun gathering designed to raise funds and awareness for Charity: Water.

Amazingly, Charlotte Twestival founder Rich Tucker has been able to pull the event together in just a week. How? With the networking tool that gave Twestival its lip-rounding sound: twitter.

“I tweeted out asking for volunteers and had a group together almost immediately,” Rich said. “Once we nailed down some details we all started tweeting about it and adding it to Facebook. Now, a week later, we’re well on our way to meeting our $5,000 goal. That’s enough to build a well. I’m really proud of how everyone has come together for this.”

Would this have been possible without twitter? Probably not. But that’s another post. Now go buy your ticket.