Will You Give $5 to Brett's Cause?

If you could give $5 to provide a year of safe drinking water to a child in a Third World country, would you? Brett Leckey, who will enter the 4th grade at Jeffrey School in the fall, has asked that question of countless Madison residents-and the answer has been a resounding "Yes."

Since March, Leckey has raised more than $3,000 for the purchase of LifeStraws to send to Haiti and other Third World countries. The $5 devices consist of straws fitted with filters that remove more than 99 percent of bacteria and viruses from water as one drinks.

Leckey's inspiration for the fundraiser came while flipping through the pages of the 2009 World Almanac for Kids with his sister Abby. A photo caught their attention: children in a Third World country, thigh-deep in discolored water, were drinking the dirty water safely through LifeStraws with smiles on their faces. The photo was accompanied by the fact that nearly 6,000 people, most of them children, die each day from consuming unsafe drinking water.

"It's really sad that over 6,000 people die a day-mostly kids-just because they don't have any water that's clean," said Leckey, age nine, who realized that the $5 price tag was low enough to make a real difference. "I asked my mom if I could start a charity for it."

When word spread about Leckey's cause, others wanted to help, too. From a cousin who donated his birthday money to parents, aunts, uncles, friends, and the greater community, Leckey has found support that far exceeded his initial expectations. Organizers of the Daniel Hand High School 2010 Night of Songs benefit concert, held in May, decided to donate all of the proceeds from their event to his efforts to purchase the affordable, portable filters. He also manned a table at the Jeffrey School Luau in March and Madison's Global Awareness Day in April. Currently, the LifeStraws are being sent to Haiti through a partnership of the Rotary Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Project HOPE (www.projecthope.org), and IMA World Health (www.imaworldhealth.org). In addition to supplying clean water, the devices also give hours of time back to young girls who miss school to carry water to their families, sometimes for miles.

Leckey created a website for his fundraiser and with the help of his mom Kathy and his sister Skylar, 10, held a lemonade stand for the cause. He's stood up in front of classrooms and spoken to receptive audiences at churches, local events, festivals, vacation Bible schools, and Rotary Clubs-and he spoke to The Source so that he can ask you that question, too.

To make a donation online, visit www.causeshare.com/lifestraw. For more info, visit http://brettscause.blogspot.com.