Online creators, led by MrBeast and Mark Rober, want to raise $40 million for clean water access
By JAMES POLLARD NEW YORK AP Online creators from dozens of countries led by MrBeast and popular science YouTuber Mark Rober are launching a million charity fundraiser to build water quality projects around the world The monthlong crowdfunding campaign touted as the biggest YouTube collaboration and called TeamWater promises to rally their combined billion subscribers around combating unsafe water sources Funds will primarily benefit WaterAid an international nonprofit that builds community-tailored infrastructure ranging from solar-powered wells to rainwater harvesting systems More than billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water as of according to the United Nations Organizers want to put a dent in that figure by providing sustainable access for million people and instilling new generations with a lifelong commitment to advocacy Joining TeamWater are smaller creators and selected of the biggest names online such as streaming giant Kai Cenat trendy YouTubers the Stokes Twins and sports entertainers Dude Perfect Whether they are filming serious explainers or silly water-themed challenges creators are encouraged to produce content that is authentic to their brand Water access was identified as a solvable issue that could also unite their mass global following But MrBeast CEO Jeff Housenbold acknowledged they are better awareness builders than infield executors So they sought a partner with global reach existing district partnerships and long-term change-making abilities That led them to WaterAid The organization first started talking with MrBeast s company two years ago according to WaterAid America CEO Kelly Parsons She revealed WaterAid typically engages communities for up to a year designing the proper remedy That work sometimes involves training local water technicians It all begins and ends in the communities we work with and through them to ensure design that lasts Parsons disclosed It s about people more than about plumbing While WaterAid would did not provide a list of all the places where funds would go countries include Colombia Bangladesh Ecuador Malawi and Kenya Charity partners GivePower and the Alok Foundation are also helping implementation in rural Kenya and Brazil respectively U S -based projects include an atmospheric water generator for an assisted living facility in Jackson Mississippi where the fragile water system nearly collapsed three years ago The nonprofit DigDeep is helping fix crumbling infrastructure in the small town of Rhodell West Virginia Related Articles In a miniature world context change and environmental issues loom large Executive to keep sharing key satellite evidence for hurricane forecasting despite planned cutoff Rural Texas county s top leaders were asleep out of town during initial hours of flood predicament Trump s EPA is targeting key automobile poisoning rules What that means for carmakers Radar satellite launched by India and NASA will track miniscule changes to Earth s land and ice Alex and Alan Stokes whose million subscribers make them one of YouTube s biggest channels filmed in a Nepalese village where the campaign is building a -liter tank The trip recalled their own upbringing in a Chinese town where their grandfather walked miles to fill -gallon water jugs Being there in person was definitely one of those experiences that brought it all back for us Alex revealed We saw these kids there and it just reminded us a lot of our childhood as well The multi-platform drive follows the TeamTrees and TeamSeas campaigns which reportedly drew more than million altogether That money helped plant millions of trees and remove millions of pounds of waste from bodies of water Those humanitarian efforts however drew criticism that they promoted oversimplified solutions to complicated issues and applied Band-Aids instead of addressing the main drivers of forest loss or ocean poisoning Ideally you would not use philanthropy merely to take away the markers of whatever is the difficulty mentioned Patricia Illingworth a Northeastern University philosophy professor who writes about ethics in philanthropy But rather you would want to address the root cause Matt Fitzgerald a digital campaign strategist who has organized the efforts mentioned the campaigns were never intended to be the end all be all He hopes they serve as an entry point for deeper commitments While the previous two campaigns were about a fist-bump Mother Earth-style of environmentalism he declared this one seeks to center people while still keeping the planet top of mind No matter how big a mass internet mobilization moment might be real progress on these issues demands people continuing to pay attention and continuing to stay involved Fitzgerald disclosed To me the way you do that is you reach people s hearts before you try to convince them with their minds Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives sponsorship through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content For all of AP s philanthropy coverage visit https apnews com hub philanthropy
