September 17, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
A Texas charity wanted its summer fund-raising appeal to stink.
Well Aware, a group in Austin that builds wells in Africa, recruited volunteers to go on a “shower strike” last month, forgoing bathing for a week to raise money for the charity.
Well Aware raised $23,000 through the event, which will be used to build a well and education center in Kenya. The charity chronicled the fate of its dirty fund raisers on its blog.
For example, on the eve of the strike, it commemorated its volunteers with poetry — showering them with praise, as it were:
Some strikers are nervous, some excited, some scared
It will be interesting to see how they each will fare.
We’re so honored to have such a fabulous team
And so glad you don’t mind not being so clean.
Sarah Evans, the group’s president, said the fund-raising effort was a success, though she admits several people dropped out of it due to the Texas heat.
“It got to be 105 or 104 degrees in Austin, so they got a little scared.”
Well Aware plans to hold the event again in 2010, but maybe during a cooler part of the year.
