April 10, 2024
The Origin Story of Shower Strike
Back in 2009, in the very early days of Well Aware, my friends and I were brainstorming how we could fund our first water well in my friend’s community in Kenya. At the time, I had no idea how to raise money – there were no law school courses on that. But I did know we were going to get this village the clean water they so desperately needed. We just had to figure out HOW. This is the Origin Story of Shower Strike.
Luckily, my friends were just as goofy as me, and the ideating was pretty fun. As we sat around my kitchen table on a hot Austin day, tossing out any and every awful option, someone looked at me and said,
“Why don’t we all stop showering, since Sarah doesn’t shower, anyway!”
Aside from what she probably meant by that, her words had an immediate effect on the group of us. I think we all realized she was onto something. I responded,
“We could actually do that – we could all say we won’t shower again until we have raised enough money for this well!”
It was a kooky idea, but we thought it just might work. And, it did.
Just one week after we launched our first Shower Strike that year, we had raised the full $25,000 to drill that first water well.
Now, 16 years later, it remains our most important fundraiser. Tens of thousands of all kinds of people have joined this strange campaign over the years, and it has raised, collectively, more than $2.5 million dollars that has funded the majority of our 120 clean water projects in East Africa. It’s been deeply humbling to see what an outlandish idea, mixed with a heck of a lot of dedication and passion for the cause, can do.
This month, as we launch our 16th Annual Shower Strike, I’m inviting you to join us!
Just by visiting showerstrike.org, you can get signed up in a couple of minutes and learn about the various and simple ways YOU can save lives through clean water with us. Every $20 you raise will provide another person with clean water and sanitation for life.
Even if you can’t participate this year, you can donate to help us reach our goal to provide clean water to 17,500 more people through this special campaign.
Please join us, and I’m so excited to change the world a little more with you this month!
Deepest gratitude,
Sarah Evans, Founder – Well Aware