March 11, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
In this economy, loose change may be all that some Americans feel they can afford to donate. Charity: water, a nonprofit group that provides clean drinking water in developing countries, is giving New Yorkers an easy way to part with their spare change: by tossing it into a wishing well in one of Manhattan’s shopping markets.
The wishing well, designed for the charity by sculptor Thomas Beale, was unveiled last night at a cocktail reception and fund-raising event that attracted roughly 1,000 people.
Corporate sponsors plan to match the donations that Americans toss into the wishing well. At least one of the gifts of change could require big pockets: an individual who wishes to remain anonymous plans to throw $1,500 in coins into the well.
Raising money isn’t the charity’s only goal. The wishing well will be accompanied by a photography exhibit designed to educate viewers about the global water crisis and ways to solve it.
What do you think of the fund-raising idea?
