Mike Welch updated us on his Twitter on his efforts with The Thirst Project (see video below). There was also an initial problem with the PayPal donation interface, but that has been fully ironed out. Here’s Mike’s latest news:

“GREAT NEWS! I have several things to report on the water… front (thirstproject.org).

First of all, I can tell you conclusively that we are raising money to build a well in Swaziland, a country just north of South Africa. Swaziland has about 500,000 people with no access to clean water. They also have the highest density population with HIV/AIDS in the entire world. In addition to providing people with clean water and the training to sustain their well for generations, Thirst Project will also be working with other organization to provide comprehensive AIDS prevention education.

I JUST found out that whatever we raise is going to be MATCHED DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR by a private donor! Thank you anonymous stranger!! Karma will treat you well. 🙂

It takes $10,000 to build a well in Swaziland. As of today, we have raised about $3,000, an amount I am very happy with at this point in our campaign. We need to get to $5,000 (which will be matched to give us a total of $10,000) in order to build a well and provide desperate people with a better life for themselves and their children. If we can get beyond that point we’ll be setting a NEW goal in addition to this one, but as of right now, let’s just focus on raising another $2,000 (5 bucks at a time) which I am confident we’ll be able to do.

The campaign has officially been extended and will now last 2 weeks into January. So if you wanted to give after the holidays, now you can.

That’s all for now. Thank you again for your generosity. You’re making a better world. :)”

We know that there are so many worthy causes out there that the actors dedicate their time to.  We know that our readers have made many generous donations in the past and we want to thank you. The Twilight actors have built homes in New Orleans, raised money for cancer research, raised money for pet adoption, and the Lexicon and Lexicon readers have supported these efforts.

We’d like to take this opportunity to put out a special plea for Mike’s project. We’ve gotten to know Mike over the years from press events and at the Official Twilight Tour. If there is a more selfless and down-to-earth actor than Mike, we have yet to meet him. Mike gives his time to so many organizations (the USO, the Young Playwrights Festival, Kids for Kids…just to name a few). Mike isn’t just a do a quick PSA, get my name in the limelight, and hope for the best kind of guy. He really immerses himself in every cause by getting involved in a real, hands on way. Frequently, Mike donates his time with no PR. We find out about his involvement by accident, because Mike isn’t in it for personal glory. For example, with no fanfare, Mike spent weeks with the USO this summer running acting workshops for military kids abroad.

With this current project Mike is actually going to Africa to build the well. It’s about as far from a glamorous project as you can get. So, if your means will allow, we’d like to personally ask you to join us in supporting Mike and this project. Your five dollars will go a long way in providing what no one should have to struggle for—safe, clean drinking water.

Mike Welch is joining with The Thirst Project to build wells. Here is what the organization (which was founded a mere three years ago by college students) has to say about what they are doing and why:

“Water. Water is the problem. Water is the solution. It might not cost as much to build and maintain a freshwater well as you think. The average cost for us to build a freshwater well in most developing nations is just $5,000. That means an entire COMMUNITY of people’s lives can be forever saved with just $5K.

All we have to do is reach the water that already exists in aquifers usually only 100-300 feet underground. One well can provide up to 500 people with clean water for 20 years! One well can save lives.

Once wells are completed, we form a water committee within each community that is educated about the importance of hand-washing and proper sanitization and is responsible for ensuring that the well stays clean and maintained.

When you bring safe water into a community, disease immediately drops by 80%! Child mortality drops by 99% overnight! The solution is too simple and the victory points are too easily attainable for us to continue to ignore the #1 killer of children globally. The solution is water. The solution is us. The solution is YOU.”

Mike is asking people to forgo a trip to a fast food place for just one day and donate $5.00 to this cause. When the funds are raised,he’s actually making the commitment himself to go to Africa and be part of the building crew. There are a lot of celebrities that attach their names to projects, but hats off to Mike for actually taking part in the most hands on way possible.

Edited: We emailed Mike to see if there is a way to make a donation greater than $5.00. As soon as we have Mike’s answer we will let you know.

EDIT 2: Here is Mike’s Answer, “@TwilightLexicon That’s very nice of you. 🙂 Here’s the situation. This campaign is structured like a contest and the “winner” will be coming to Africa with me. {if 5,000 people donate ;)}. Therefore, you can only give 5 dollars, per ONE person. I think this might be a legal issue. However, you are more than welcome to donate additional funds to the organization OUTSIDE of my thing. The need is really great and every dollar helps. Thanks for asking. ”

Edit3: Apparently you can legally do more on that interface. So let’s say you want to donate$15.oo, you would just go through the process 3 times. You can also do what we did which was what we tweeted to Mike: @MichaelWelchAct Ok we did a $5.00 donation on the $5.00 club interface and then we did another one for a different amount on the general donation button at the top of their site. In the comments to the seller we asked them to please credit the amount to your overall goal. We hope you make your goal!