Alyssa Milano went to the well of her fans’ good will, and found it to be overflowing.
It was less than a month ago that the actress sent a note to her half-million Twitter followers, asking them to donate to her personal Charity: Water campaign aimed at bringing clean drinking water to those without. Just five hours after that initial tweet, she reached her $25,000 fundraising goal — and realized how giving her fans could be.
So she upped the ante.
Six days later, Milano’s fans surprised her again by pushing through her revised $50,000 goal. So Milano set her sights on a lofty $75,000 goal, which we wrote about here at Tonic.
Well, the day after Christmas, Milano’s fans not only reached that goal, but shattered it — raising a total of $92,568 for Charity: Water in Milano’s name.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Milano tells Tonic. “Knowing that 18 communities will be transformed by the generosity of strangers … it’s inspiring.”
When she started, Milano hoped to raise enough money to bring clean water to just five communities. Knowing that water-borne illnesses are the second-leading cause of death in children around the world, she decided that giving up presents for her 37th birthday in exchange for donations was a tiny sacrifice.
Now, her fundraising efforts — 100-percent of which will go directly to the cause of drilling wells on the ground, with no money lost to overhead (thanks to Charity: Water’s infrastructure) — will, in fact, bring clean water to 18 communities. Which means that her fans are personally responsible for affecting the lives of more than 4,600 people.
Milano, though, hopes that’s just the beginning.
“I would like to thank everyone who helped make the campaign such a success, and encourage anyone who was touched by what we accomplished to start their own Charity: Water campaign,” she says.
You don’t need 500,000 Twitter followers to make a difference. Sign up for a MyCharity: Water campaign here, and see what you and your own friends can accomplish.
“My plan is to give up my birthday every year to bring clean water projects to developing nations,” Milano says.
Imagine what would happen if even half of her half-million Twitter fans — who’ve already proven themselves so generous — did the very same thing?
That overflowing well of good could literally change the world.
Photos courtesy Alyssa Milano
