The Gospel of John talks about how Jesus Christ attended a wedding in the small Galilee village of Cana and upon being informed by his mother that there was no more wine left for revelers to indulge in, he transformed the contents of several water filled containers into fresh grapey goodness. Well, the online wine vendor Cellar Thief is creating a reverse miracle of their very own by turning every bottle of wine that they sell into clean water for those in need. The California based purveyor of grape juice with a kick has paired up with Charity:Water to help make a difference with at least some of the billion citizens living on our planet – that’s one in eight human beings – who lack access to safe, clean drinking water.
Offering a very limited inventory of deeply discounted wines (available only until they run through their stock) with a reasonable $5 standard shipping fee for a minimum 3-bottle order, Cellar Thief replaces whatever selections they run through with entirely new brands of reds and whites that are hand-picked by industry veterans. Wine hounds will appreciate their discerning and tasteful offerings but likely choose to become repeat customers based on their policy of corporate generosity which provides 100 days' worth of clean water for every bottle of wine that they sell as well as additional donated “bounty” once they’ve completely sold out of their featured wines.
Choosing to team up with Charity:Water is a wise move for Cellar Thief since the highly regarded non-profit donates 100% of raised funds toward the development of sustainable, clean water opportunities in poverty-stricken regions of the world that need it the most. As it stands, they are currently involved in 2,321 water projects ranging in diversity from creating rainwater harvesting schemes and borehole wells to biosand filters and hand dug wells throughout Africa, India, Honduras, Haiti, Cambodia and Bandgadesh. According to their website, just 2.5% of the water on our planet is available to earth’s 6 billion residents and yet far too many regions lack the means to tap into natural aquifers and lakes. An estimated 42,000 people (90% of which are children) end up dying on a weekly basis due to water-related illnesses such as schistosomiasi, intestinal worms, diarrhea, hepatitis A and malaria.
The construction of a simple $5,000 well and education regarding necessary sanitation techniques could make the difference between life and death. Financial sponsorships of $20,000 can fund the drilling of a well along with the construction of bathrooms that can serve more than 1,000 students at a time. For those with more modest financial means, they can choose to donate $20 each month to Charity:Water (which will provide clean water for one person for a 20 year period) or get more bang for their buck by indulging in Cellar Thief’s selections, knowing that the more they purchase, the greater the impact on our global water issue. Quite a spirited solution, so please spread the word!
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