Clam Lorenz, GM of Social Innovation, PayPal

22 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly designated the 22nd of March as the first World Water Day. It’s a day to celebrate water. It’s a day to be conscious of the amount of water we use. More importantly, it’s a day to make a difference for people who suffer from water related issues. It’s hard to believe that 750 million people do not have access to safe water – that’s approximately 1 in 9 people around the world.[1]

There are several ways you can get involved on World Water Day. We have created a special donations page to help you donate directly with PayPal to charities like: Waves for Water, Water.org, charity:water and unicef TAP PROJECT. The official World Water Day 2015 website has a list of events where you can participate in as well.

Last year, at PayPal, we rallied our communities and employees to raise funds and awareness around water-related issues. During the FIFA World Cup in June and July, we teamed up with Waves for Water and FC Barcelona soccer star Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior to bring clean water to communities in need across Brazil. Through our efforts, we raised more than $300,000 to make a real difference by giving six million Brazilians access to clean water every day for five years.

World Water Day spotlights a different issue every year. The theme for 2015 is “Water and Sustainable Development,” focusing on water’s link to all areas we need to consider as we work to achieve global sustainability. Water plays an essential role in everything from human health and food production to environmental preservation and urbanization.

In 2014, 35 million people around the world made a donation through PayPal, helping raise nearly $5 billion in donations for charities including Waves for Water. When you donate via PayPal Giving Fund all of the transaction fees are on us – that means 100% of your donation goes to the nonprofit of your choice.

Let us know via a tweet to @PayPal how you celebrated #WorldWaterDay. @UN-Water suggests using #WaterIs to share messages about #Water and #Sustainability.

[1] “Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation, 2014 Update” - World Health Organization and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (2014)