Mayspiration: Thirst Tee's

I am happy to have Kyle from Thirst Tee's here today joining us for Mayspiration. Isn't it amazing to think that by purchasing one $25 shirt, it gives one person access to clean water for 25 years. That's like $1 a year. Unbelievable. Please take the time to check out Kyle's blog after reading! What a great cause. Take it away, Kyle.

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I have recently been blessed with the opportunity to start a philanthropic clothing line called ThirstTees (www.thirsttees.com). One tee gives one person access to clean water for 25 years. We are able to do this through a partnership with a non-profit called Thirst Relief International (thirstfelief.org), that builds wells and water purifiers in Africa and South America.

The origin of ThirstTees began with a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil I took while still in college. I had the opportunity to work with a group of children living in the favelas (slums). I had seen the pictures and heard the stories about the hardships of different parts of the world, but it never really hits you until you see it with your own eyes. While I was down there, we visited the homes of numerous families and listened to the stories of what they faced each day. They essentially live in shacks made of any materials they can find. Their electricity is stolen from the city and the sewage system consisted of PVC pipes leading to an open river flowing through town (Its hard to forget the smell). However, the mothers were focusing their stories on the concerns of how to keep their 10 and 11 year old children away from prostitution and drugs. It quickly put the issues of an American lifestyle in perspective. I knew that I wanted to do something to help. (See the full Founders Story)

After returning home, I finished school and ended up traveling to New Zealand with my brother for eight months. While backpacking around the country, we researched how to start a business between cleaning toilets and making beds to pay for our accommodation. I also began to research more about the major issues that our world faces today and clean water continued to come up. The more I learned, the more I realized clean water was a HUGE issues that leads to numerous problems around the world.

- Every 19 seconds a child dies from a water related illness.

- Disease from unsafe drinking water kills more people then all forms of violence combined, including war.

- More people on this earth have cell phones then access to a toilet. (More facts here)

All of the time and effort spent on finding clean water is time missed in school, taking care of a family or earning an income. Water is where it starts. Our world has made incredible leaps forward in our capabilities, but through our progress, we have left too many people behind.

At ThirstTees, we believe that a life of joy and fulfillment comes down to giving to others. Focusing on others needs before your own. I do not claim to be an expert on this. I actually struggle with this daily and that is why I wanted to create something where I could devote my life to focusing on others. My goal was to make it simple and easy for my friends and family to help someone across the world that they will never see or meet. We are all connected. What happens on the other side of the world impacts how our businesses operate and the choices our government makes, which then trickles down to our individual lives. Until we start to see the world as one connected unit, we will stay on the same path that many people are not happy with. However, as soon as we take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on others, change will follow.

We would love it if you would join our movement to end thirst, because no one should be thirsty (ThirstTee). We have some exciting changes coming up in the next few months. We are making some major improvements and releasing some new products that will lead to more people gaining access to clean water. Click HERE if you are interested in learning more about these changes. Check out our blog, follow us on twitter, like us on facebook, circle us on Google+, and most importantly, purchase a tee and change the next 25 years of a persons life.