Gucci, Beyoncé & Matt Damon Care About the Global Water Crisis, You Should Too
On this day last year, dozens of celebrities threw up a “W” sign on Instagram. The two-handed sign caused a stir on social media, with Adele, Ed Sheeran and Emma Stone among those who made a pledge to support World Water Day, an initiative that hopes to bring awareness to the clean-water crisis. One year later, this global crisis unsurprisingly still exists. Today, 663 million people around the world live without access to clean water. We might not be seeing identical celebrity photos across our feeds this year, but that doesn’t mean people are ignoring the problem.
For example, Gucci and Chime for Change have partnered with Beyoncé and UNICEF to bring clean water to the children of Burundi. With Gucci’s $1 million pledge to the project, 80 safe water sources will be built and clean water will be provided to 120,000 women and their families. And if you’re a beer fan or a tea drinker, you can use your purchasing power to help provide aid to others. With each Limited-Edition Stella Artois Chalice sold, Water.org will provide five years of clean water for one person in the developing world, and with each 50 gram purchase of David’s Tea’s Me to We India blend, two weeks of clean water will be given to a developing community in India.
Matt Damon’s Water.org, the organization partnered with Stella Artois, created a video that helps the public put the global water crisis into perspective. The clip captures the reactions of unsuspecting people when they are challenged to imagine their everyday lives without easy access to clean water.
We spoke with Gary White, who co-founded Water.org with Damon, about the need for water aid, the power of celebrity partners, and the reason why women are disproportionately affected by this global crisis.
From education to health care, there are so many charitable causes that deserve our attention and financial aid. What do you want people to understand about the clean water crisis?
Without water, there is no life. Imagine what your day would look like if you had to walk up to six hours for water. Or wait in line for water at a community pipe that may or may not be turned on that day. This is all of your water: for bathing, cooking, cleaning, and drinking. During my trips to the communities we serve, I saw that the single most crippling factor facing humanity today is lack of access to safe water. The reverse is also true—with water comes possibility.
How does the water crisis disproportionately affect women, and how does the work you’re doing impact women’s rights and education for young girls?
The global water crisis disproportionately affects women and children as they are often the family members responsible for collecting water and can spend up to six hours per day collecting water instead of working, caring for family or attending school. By providing these communities with access to clean water, women and children can instead spend the time they would be walking for water to attend school, work or even maintain their own business.
How important is it for non-profits to have big names behind them? What does Matt Damon’s celebrity status and a brand like Stella Artois bring to Water.org?
It’s powerful to be able to leverage a celebrity like Matt for a good cause. Since we brought our two organizations together almost 10 years ago, his support has continued to elevate awareness around our organization and the global water crisis. One of the goals of our partnership with Stella Artois is to also transform understanding of the global water crisis by making it more relatable, as not everyone can go to these countries and see the issue firsthand.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://fashionmagazine.com/flare/celebrity/world-water-day-celebrities/&title=Gucci, Beyoncé & Matt Damon Care About the Global Water Crisis, You Should Too&picture=https://fashionmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GettyImages-2829278-800x536.jpg&description=On this day last year, dozens of celebrities threw up a "W" sign on Instagram. The two-handed sign caused a stir on social media, with Adele, Ed Sheeran and Emma Stone among those who made a pledge to support World Water Day, an initiative that hopes to bring awareness to the clean-water crisis. One year later, this global crisis unsurprisingly still exists. Today, 663 million people around the world live without access to clean water. We might not be seeing identical celebrity photos across our feeds this year, but that doesn't mean people are ignoring the problem.
For example, Gucci and Chime for Change have partnered with Beyoncé and UNICEF to bring clean water to the children of Burundi. With Gucci’s $1 million pledge to the project, 80 safe water sources will be built and clean water will be provided to 120,000 women and their families. And if you're a beer fan or a tea drinker, you can use your purchasing power to help provide aid to others. With each Limited-Edition Stella Artois Chalice sold, Water.org will provide five years of clean water for one person in the developing world, and with each 50 gram purchase of David's Tea's Me to We India blend, two weeks of clean water will be given to a developing community in India.
Matt Damon's Water.org, the organization partnered with Stella Artois, created a video that helps the public put the global water crisis into perspective. The clip captures the reactions of unsuspecting people when they are challenged to imagine their everyday lives without easy access to clean water.
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
We spoke with Gary White, who co-founded Water.org with Damon, about the need for water aid, the power of celebrity partners, and the reason why women are disproportionately affected by this global crisis.
From education to health care, there are so many charitable causes that deserve our attention and financial aid. What do you want people to understand about the clean water crisis?
Without water, there is no life. Imagine what your day would look like if you had to walk up to six hours for water. Or wait in line for water at a community pipe that may or may not be turned on that day. This is all of your water: for bathing, cooking, cleaning, and drinking. During my trips to the communities we serve, I saw that the single most crippling factor facing humanity today is lack of access to safe water. The reverse is also true—with water comes possibility.
How does the water crisis disproportionately affect women, and how does the work you're doing impact women's rights and education for young girls?
The global water crisis disproportionately affects women and children as they are often the family members responsible for collecting water and can spend up to six hours per day collecting water instead of working, caring for family or attending school. By providing these communities with access to clean water, women and children can instead spend the time they would be walking for water to attend school, work or even maintain their own business.
How important is it for non-profits to have big names behind them? What does Matt Damon's celebrity status and a brand like Stella Artois bring to Water.org?
It’s powerful to be able to leverage a celebrity like Matt for a good cause. Since we brought our two organizations together almost 10 years ago, his support has continued to elevate awareness around our organization and the global water crisis. One of the goals of our partnership with Stella Artois is to also transform understanding of the global water crisis by making it more relatable, as not everyone can go to these countries and see the issue firsthand.){kind=link}