The Power of Awareness

“I believe once people are aware of this crisis, and aware of the amount of deaths that occur, its hard to turn your back and its hard to not do something and not act.”

Kari Lorenzen, is with 1 Billion Thirsty and is a Del Mar resident and neighbor Carmel Valley.  1Billion Thirsty is a local, non-profit organization that is leading a grass-roots movement to raise awareness and funds regarding the worlds water-crisis (over 1 billion people throughout the world who do not have access to clean water).

“There are currently one billion people living without access to clean and safe drinking water around the world. In addition, there are 2.5 billion people who lack access to basic sanitation. Every week 45,000 people die from water related illnesses, 90% are to children under the age of five. So basically, every 20 seconds, a mother is loosing a child to water-related illnesses,” stated Kari

For those of us living in the Carmel Valley San Diego community, we know how blessed we are to have life’s many luxuries, but for those living in Third World countries, even something as important as clean water often can’t be taken for granted. Several Carmel Valley and Del Mar residents have joined together to help do their part in addressing the world’s most pressing health crisis, clean water!

According to Kari, there are numerous ways people can get involved. “We are empowering and encouraging our donors to become involved. We have an “Etsy shop” where crafters can go donate items and people can also purchase items and 100% of the proceeds go to clean water projects. We also do a campaign mid-year called the ‘Live Without Campaign,’ where we encourage people to give up every day little luxuries that we live with here and donate that money with clean water projects. At 1 Billion Thirsty, we do encourage people not to just give of their financial capabilities but to also to give of their time to raise awareness. Awareness is just as powerful as any financial donation, and anyone can raise awareness.”

The Dalzell Group Real Estate

Jim and his wife Jo have lived in Carmel Valley since 1987 and first got into the real estate business in 1992 after a successful career in the construction industry in South Africa.  Kevin Dalzell joined the team in 2002 after playing professional rugby  in Europe (represented the U.S. in two Rugby World Cups) and is now living with his wife, Nina, in Solana Beach.  Ryan Dalzell coordinates the team’s marketing program, and he joined the group in 2004 after working as a flight instructor.  Ryan lives in Carmel Valley with his wife Julie and their 3 children.  Amber Worsham recently joined the team as the new Marketing Manager & Transaction Coordinator.  With over five years of experience in marketing real estate in Coastal North County, Amber provides us with extensive expertise in the print, internet and direct marketing aspects of the business.