All posts tagged: India

Celebrating Well #8, Launching Round #9!

October 30, 2023 Alison Clean Water, Kids No comments

Round #8 is officially DONE! We are so proud of all of the kids who pitched in to sell elephants and spread the word about Set Free so that another well could be drilled in India. This well provided clean water to 6,500 people in Southern India, thanks to 50 kids here in America that decided they wanted to make it happen!

To date, Crowdsourcing Kids have provided clean water to 28,017 people since we launched five years ago. Ready to do it again!? We’re launching Round #9 on Wednesday, November 1st. Here’s what this round will look like:

Each kit will include 9 small elephant ornaments, and 1 large elephant ornament handmade by young ladies rescued from slavery in India.
Crowdsourcing Kids will sell the 9 elephants for $12 each, and the large elephant for $17, generating $125 for Set Free.
When 50 kids each do that, we’ll have enough money to drill our 9th well in India! We’ll be able to give the gift of clean water to a village that has waited a long time for this simple resource.

Ready to get involved and be a world changer!? We’d love for you to get join!

Here We Go! Help Us Complete Round #8

August 10, 2022 Alison Events No comments

Thanks to the efforts of compassionate kids, 21,517 people have clean water since Crowdsourcing Kids launched in 2018. Last year alone we provided clean water to nearly 10,000 people. We’re proving that when we work together, anything is possible! We’ve done it seven times and now we’re doing it again!

Packing Round #8 Elephant Kits

Last month several Crowdsourcing Kids gathered to help pack our elephant kits for Round #8. Check out this video of their hard work!

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How Crowdsourcing Kids Works

New to the concept? Here’s how it works! We have 50 kits available for Round #8. When 50 kids each sell a kit, which includes 10 elephants handmade by young ladies rescued from slavery, they’ll raise $125 each for our ministry partner Set Free. With their efforts combined, those 50 kids will raise enough money to drill a well in India!

Ready to Get Started?

Now it’s time to get your kids involved! Order your Crowdsourcing Kids elephant kit now and teach your kids what it means to be a world changer! They’ll see that they’re not too young to make a difference in the world. Help us drill our 8th kid-powered well in India and change the lives of an entire village!

Well #6: Giving Clean Water to Thousands of People

February 23, 2021 Alison Clean Water No comments

Well kids, you’ve done it again! You’ve worked hard, sold elephants, and raised money for Set Free so that we could drill our sixth well. This time your dedication paid off in a big way. We were able to bring clean water to 3,985 people! This round was different than any we have done before because all of these elephants were ornaments!

Claire from Set Free shared the details about the new well drilled in the village of Ramalayam Street, Ramuda, India:

Before the drilling of this deep well, the remote village of Ramalayam Street, Ramudaremote relied on wells that were hand-dug decades back. Their water tables had depleted and they had run dry. Until you helped drill this new deep well, the villagers were responsible for collecting water in nearby villages for their families. Because of this, many children were not attending school because the task of collecting water often fell on them.

Just like here, this village has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic. Immune systems were weakened for so long by dirty water that many in the village were having a hard time fighting the virus. With this gift of clean water, health conditions have drastically improved! The villages are so thankful for this gift.

Well #5 Report: Clean Water for 3,980 People!

October 15, 2020 Alison Clean Water No comments

Because 50 kids in America decided to pitch in during a global pandemic and each sell 12 handmade elephants, 3,980 people in the village of Naidu Palem have clean water! Isn’t that amazing?? This is our 5th Crowdsourcing Kids well drilled in India.

Life Before the New Well

Previously, the village of Naidu Palem relied on four hand-dug wells that have dried up. When these wells ran dry, the women and children began collecting water from a river far outside the village. Because of the financial strain brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, both parents needed to work to help support their families. Due to their lack of easily accessible water, many of the wives couldn’t support their families because their time was used to collect this dirty water.

Why This Village?

Our partners in India assessed the village’s needs, and our pastor partner arranged for the drilling of this deep well to begin as soon as possible. Once the drilling of this well was completed in August thanks to the money raised by the Crowdsourcing Kids boxes sold, men and women rejoiced because they had more time to work to support their families!

What the Gift of Clean Water Means to Them

Drinking dirty water impacts a person’s health in many ways. One of the issues it creates is damage to the immune system. Because of this, many residents of this village struggled with illness. They had a difficult time fighting COVID-19 and one person there even passed away from the virus. But now that they have access to clean water, residents report feeling healthier overall, and there have been no Coronavirus deaths.

We are excited to announce the launch of round 6 of Crowdsourcing Kids. These 50 boxes of elephants will help fund the drilling of a well in another village in India that desperately needs access to clean water. Will you and your family help?

Next Round of Crowdsourcing Kids Elephants Available Early!

March 18, 2020 Alison Events, Kids No comments

Surprise! We have released the next round of Crowdsourcing Kids elephant boxes! We had planned to release the elephants on World Water Day 2020, which is coming up on March 22. But with so many kids stuck at home, we decided to launch this class of boxes a couple of days early. We know many parents are looking for fun, educational activities for their kids to do and this is a great, positive project you can work on as a whole family.

What Can My Child Learn Selling Elephants?

Selling elephants incorporates a lot of lessons in one activity! They can learn about entrepreneurship by marketing their elephants, selling elephants, and collecting money. They can practice math and learn about money as they sell their 12 elephants and collect $130 to donate to Set Free. Parents can also use this as a social studies lesson when they teach about the world water crisis and what life is like for those who do not have easy access to clean water. Once the well is drilled you’ll get information like this about the village impacted by your work and generosity. Geography can also be taught as you learn more about India and the area where your water well will eventually be drilled.

How Can My Child Sell Elephants?

We know this is a crazy time in history as many of us adapt to “social distancing” and being quarantined. But just because we can’t physically be around many of those in our community doesn’t mean we can’t connect! We think your community is hungrier than ever for POSITIVE news and they want to be a part of making the world a better (and healthier!) place! Expect your elephants to sell FAST! Here are some tips:

Stick with social media! People are using social media to stay connected, and they’ll love seeing something positive in their feed.
Video your kids sharing what they’ve learned about the world water crisis and why they want to help. Check out this video of sweet Olivia showing off her box of elephants!

Posted by Rod Dawn Efta on Friday, March 29, 2019

- - - Have a Wella photo shoot! What better way to lift people’s spirits than with cute kids and elephants.
    - Suggest porch pick-up or add a little extra to the price for shipping.
    - Don’t forget to use #CrowdsourcingKids on your social media posts. On Instagram tag @setfreealliance and @crowdsourcingkids when you post so we can keep up with your uplifting stories while the world feels a little scarier than usual.

How Do I Buy a Box of Elephants?

Ready to be a part of something BIG and make a difference in the world? Buy your box of elephants now. We can organize local pick up for $25 if you are in the Greenville, South Carolina area. Otherwise your box will cost $30 and we’ll make sure it gets right to your door. New this year, every box includes a sweet little gift just for the seller! We can’t wait for you to be part of the team!

Registration is CLOSED! What Does That Mean?

December 14, 2019 Alison Kids No comments

Registration is now CLOSED for Crowdsourcing Kids! What does that mean? It means a couple of things:

All of our elephant boxes to fund our FIFTH Crowdsourcing Kids well in India have been snatched up! That’s great news! It means that when everyone sells their elephants and submits the funds to Water of Life, our fifth well will be fully funded and we’ll be able to drill another well to completely change the lives of an entire village. Want to see the last well we drilled? Check this out!
Since all of our elephant boxes have been claimed for our fifth well, we are now asking new friends to sign up for the waiting list. That way we can notify you when a fresh batch of elephant boxes becomes available. We anticipate the next round launching around World Water Day 2020.

Meet Our Newest Crowdsourcing Kids

We are having so much fun seeing photos of our elephant salesmen and saleswomen from our fifth class of Crowdsourcing Kids! They’re doing a great job sharing the story of Water of Life, while learning about the water crisis.

These three world changers are Caleb, 5, Joshua, 4, and Samuel, 1. They sold elephants door-to-door on a drizzly Friday afternoon. We love what mom Jennifer had to say about the experience, “What a blessing it is to teach them what it means to love others and what that looks like in action. They understand that not everyone in this world has access to fresh water like we do. We’ve had conversations about slavery and the freedom that these elephants represent. And they are walking away from this experience with the understanding that even though they are young, they can still make a difference in this world.”

Thank you boys, and thank you to all of the kids who are making our fifth Crowdsourcing Kids well possible. We can’t wait to show you photos and video from India!

Crowdsourcing Kids Gives Clean Water to Entire Village

March 10, 2019 Alison Clean Water, Kids No comments

Crowdsourcing Kids launched on World Water Day 2018. In less than a year elephant sales have helped fund four well-drilling projects, bringing clean water to thousands of people! Last fall the children that sold elephants made it possible for Water of Life to drill a well in the village of Gorrepadu. This is a life-changing gift for the 1506 people that call this village home.

Village receives clean water thanks to Crowdsourcing Kids

People in this village in India now have access to clean drinking water thanks to Crowdsourcing Kids. This well was completely funded because 50 kids sold boxes of handmade elephants! This was an answer to prayer for the people here who struggle to secure work because they’re often focused on finding water. This is a life changing gift for them!

Taking a drink of clean water from the new well.

The plaque installed at the base of the new well says “This bore well is dedicated to Jesus Christ.” It also shares a Bible verse, John 4:14, “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”

Plaque hanging at new well

On World Water Day 2019 we will be launching another round of Crowdsourcing Kids. This is a chance for 50 more kids to be part of funding a well-drilling project in India. If you would like to get your child involved, you can purchase a box of elephants on March 22. On World Water Day we will launch the next round of Crowdsourcing Kids. Sign up to be on the waiting list now!

Village residents enjoying new well

Elephant Packing Party Preps for World Water Day

March 7, 2019 Alison Events, Uncategorized No comments

In preparation for our next Crowdsourcing Kids launch on World Water Day, we prepared 100 boxes of elephants. Two dozen hardworking, generous ladies, made this event a success!

Elephant Packing Party Volunteers Prepped Boxes for World Water Day

Our wonderful volunteers at the Elephant Packing Party

Everyone gathered at Happy + Hale in downtown Greenville, South Carolina. Happy + Hale is healthy restaurant known for their bright decor and nutritious food. The restaurant generously offered their space for assembling elephant boxes and even served refreshments to the volunteers! The first 15 volunteers received gift bags full of goodies from Methodical Coffee, Swamp Rabbit Cafe, Baking Sweet Scents, Organic Tan Face & Body and HIS Radio.

Thank you to our generous business partners who donated for the goodie bags!

Our volunteers worked quickly and cheerfully to tag, assemble and pack 100 boxes of elephants. Women formerly enslaved in rock quarries in India made the elephants. The women learned to sew through a vocational program. They earn money making the adorable elephants. In less than two hours the boxes were sealed and ready for World Water Day.

Elephant Packing Party Volunteers prepare for World Water Day

Elephant Packing Party volunteers worked quickly to prepare boxes.

On World Water Day, March 22, the public is invited to buy boxes of elephants for $25 each. Sign up for the waiting list to be notified when boxes are available. The boxes contain 12 elephants and when children sell the elephants they will raise $130 for Water of Life. When their efforts are combined with 49 other children they will raise enough to completely fund a well-drilling project in India. After launching on World Water Day 2018, Crowdsourcing Kids has drilled four wells in India, bringing clean water to thousands of people.

Volunteer Holding Box of Elephants for World Water Day 2019

Packing Party volunteer poses with a completed box of elephants.

Thank you to all of our volunteers for making this event a success and for being a part of this world-changing project!

Elephants For Sale! Meet Some of the Current #CrowdsourcingKids

August 25, 2018 Alison Kids No comments

And they’re off! Our second group of #CrowdsourcingKids has already started selling their elephants! Many have created videos, sharing their desire to help people they’ll never meet have clean drinking water! We want to introduce you to some of these amazing young world-changers!

Caleb, age 8: Greenville, South Carolina

Caleb age 8, Greenville, SC

Caleb sold out of his elephants super fast, so he came back for two more boxes of elephants! It seems to have sparked a passion in Caleb for ending the water crisis.

Elijah, age 10: Mauldin, South Carolina

Elijah made an awesome video for his mom to post on Facebook so he could sell his elephants. When his mom offered to take the elephants to work to sell them Elijah said, “No mom! I want to sell them myself and deliver them all!”

Olivia, age 5; Sophia, age 8 and Ava, age 10: Peshtigo, Wisconsin

Olivia Sophia and Ave ages 5 8 10

These girls know very well the challenges people in India face, especially those in the lowest caste. Their parents have been on many mission trips to the country so they were eager to do their part by selling elephants and bringing clean water to an entire village!

They Drilled It! Introducing Our First #CrowdsourcingKids Well in India!

August 23, 2018 Alison Clean Water No comments

Thanks to the combined efforts of 50 kids, the first #CrowdsourcingKids well has been drilled in India, providing fresh drinking water to 414 people in the village of Bangarumetta. According to our partners on the ground, this village used to rely on a tank that collected water from the hills, but for the past several years that water has not even lasted two months out of the year. That means the rest of the time villagers had to go to water sources far away to collect water, a job that often fell on school-aged children.

The Pastor for this village visited every Friday to lead services and share the Gospel. The well arrived, presented as a gift from Jesus, which only serves to strengthen the faith of the people there. Pastor Praveen created this thank you message especially for the children who sold elephants, funding this well-drilling project.

Want to get involved with helping to drill our second well in India? Right now there are boxes of elephants available. It’s a fundraising-kit-in-a-box that includes everything your child needs to raise money for our ministry partner Water of Life. When all the elephants from these 50 boxes are sold, we’ll be able to drill our second #CrowdsourcingKids well!