Tired of this city's embarrassing news narrative? Let's change the story and show the world what we're made of.

"There is a water crisis today. But the crisis isn't about having too little water to satisfy our needs. It is a crisis of managing water so badly that billions of people - and the environment - suffer badly." World Water Vision Report

Hi. My name is Ash, and Toronto has been my home for nearly 30 years. It’s made up of vibrant & eclectic communities, full of talented, smart and compassionate people. But over the past few years, and particularly this last one, our city has been plagued by the media’s obsession with salacious stories about municipal corruption, political & celebrity scandals and other useless nonsense.

The profit driven elevation of this subject matter to its current saturation has not only stained our reputation as a city with the rest of the developed world, it has clogged up our mainstream media pipeline, preventing hundreds, if not thousands, of critical and relevant news stories with real impact on our daily lives from ever being reported on.

But alas, the democratization of knowledge in this digital age has helped bring down the gate keepers. Social movements like Occupy Wall Street voice loudly the discontent of people all over the world suffering or watching others suffer from social and economic injustice. The days of keeping the masses pre-occupied & primed for capitalist consumerism with so called news stories about the next crack smoking major or sexting congressman are numbered.

I believe we can change the narrative. Instead of being renowned as the “city with the crack smoking mayor”, let’s be the city that’s renowned for having the most compassionate & informed citizens. Let’s be the city renowned for collectively doing the most good for those of us who are the least fortunate. Let’s be the city that cares the most, loves the most, and gives the most.

So why Charity Water? Well… the water crisis is indeed a global crisis, one that will dramatically and directly impact all humankind eventually, but is already ravaging the least of us in the saddest way. And unless those of us that are more fortunate do our part to change how disproportionately this crisis continues to destroy the lives of millions of people across the planet, the spread of senseless death and suffering will only continue to grow exponentially.

We as the inhabitants of this planet are all connected in a way today unlike any other time in our past. So when nearly a billion people on the planet aren't provided access to clean drinking water, those people, making up roughly 26 times the entire Canadian population, aren’t just statistics anymore. When every single day, 5,000 kids aren't saved from water-related illnesses before they reach their fifth birthday, those kids aren't just some sad mortality rate anymore.

The people at Charity: water know it doesn't have to be this way. Simple solutions like drilled wells, spring protections and BioSand filters are helping provide clean water to communities around the world every day. And unlike other charitable organizations, 100% of proceeds donated to Charity: water through campaigns like this are used to build clean water projects in developing countries, with the organization’s operating costs funded separately through a group of private donors. When projects are finished, satellite imagery is used to show exactly what was done, and how communities are being saved.

Here is my part:
Over the next 30 days, I will match every dollar donated through this campaign up to a total of $5000. So if you donate $5 today, I’ll do the same. And if you tell a friend, and they donate $5 tomorrow, I will as well.

Here is your part:
1. Watch the video below and learn more about our global water crisis, and about some of the things being done to address it.

2. Tell everyone you know about this campaign: (my.charitywater.org/torontos-new-story). Family, friends, peers, social network connections and people with influence. The more people know, the more likely we are to make history.

3. Make a donation. It doesn’t matter how much. At the very least, 200% of the amount you donate will go directly to help people in dire need.

4. Become a donation matcher. Why stop at $10,000 when we can raise $100,000 or even a million dollars? If 10 people agree to match new donations up to $100, that will add $2000. And if 20 people agree to match new donations up to $500, that will add $20,000…and so on and so forth.

Despite the hardships we face day to day living here in Toronto or in any part of the developed world, the simple truth is we have more to be thankful for than the vast majority of people around the globe. Knowing about the problem of hundreds of millions of people living and dying without basic life necessities like clean water is the first step. Doing something about it is the next.

Help me bring the focus back on things that actually matter, both locally and around the globe. Help me show the powers that be that the generation you and I belong to will no longer continue to be distracted or deceived. Help me make a statement to the world about who we are as Torontonians... as Canadians and Americans... as Hispanic, Asian, African, Indian and European people...

Help me make a statement as the father, mother, or grandparent looking out for the future generations of humanity... or as the young man or woman joining the voices of youth all around the globe changing the world as we know it one protest at a time.

Help me do good, and bring clean water to people dying daily without it, and prove to the world why hope and faith in humanity are justified. Help me change the story.

Sincerely,
Ash

PS. Canadians looking to receive official tax receipts for substantial donations can do so by donating through my church (SMSV) who have generously offered to act as an intermediary in order for donors to receive tax sheltering benefits.

Learn More About The Global Water Crisis...
http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/
http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/library/archives/water-crisis/
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_scarcity
http://www.waterambassadorscanada.org/water_crisis.html

Learn More About Ash...
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/ashrafaminceo/
http://www.ashrealestate.ca
http://www.conquestdistributors.com
http://www.smsv.ca

"Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right"
- Bob Marley