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Last night I attended the 8th annual 2017 Thirst Gala at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. Some of you might have read my post about the event last year. The Thirst Gala is a fundraiser hosted by the Thirst Project. What is the goal of the Thirst Project? To end the global water crisis. By giving people around the world access to clean drinking water it changes countless lives for the better. Not only does access to clean drinking water help save lives by eliminating waterborne diseases, but it also gives women and children a better life.
Women and children are normally the ones who have to spend hours every single day walking to get water for their families. That means the women and children do not have time to get a job or go to school. The heartbreaking fact is that even after all of the hours they spend getting the water it isn’t impacting their lives in a positive way since the water is dirty.
While the Thirst Project is not the only group working to end the global water crisis one thing that sets it apart is that it is largely supported by the youth. So many schools are raising money for this organization. One school that came to the gala has already raised $51,000 this year.
My friend Bruno and I made sure to arrive early this year since last year we missed most of the red carpet. This gave us some time to walk the carpet ourselves and enjoy the lobby of the hotel. Before we knew it we started seeing familiar faces everywhere we looked.
Before the gala began I met Shane Harper from Good Luck Charlie and Monique Coleman from High School Musical.
Once we were let inside the ballroom we went inside the Every Drop Counts experience sponsored by Morton salt. We were told that for every picture from the exhibit that was shared on social media using the hashtag #MortonxThirst $100 would be donated to the Thirst Project. The last part of the experience was a yellow umbrella that had lights above it to look like water. It was a recreation of the logo for Morton salt but all I saw was “Singin’ In The Rain“.
The show began with Andrea Russett introducing OK Go who partnered with Morton Salt & the Thirst Project for a music video in 2016. Following a performance by OK Go Seth Maxwell, who is the CEO of the Thirst Project, shared about the creation of his company and provided information about the global water crisis.
A few awards were given out throughout the gala to honor people who gave their time and/or money. Some of the other presenters included actors Cameron Boyce, Drake Bell, Garrett Clayton, Shane Harper and Laura Marano. Andy Grammer sang What A Wonderful World with his wife Aijia. Andy also sang his hit song Keep Your Head Up at the end of the show.
Drew Seeley and his wife Amy hosted the live auction during which generous donors pledged money to build wells in Swaziland and Kenya. Over $250,000 was raised during the gala which will go a long way in providing clean water to those who need it.
Following the ceremony, everyone was invited to the after party. There was music, dessert, and swag bags. A lot of people hung around talking to friends both old and new. During the after party Bruno and I met a lot of people.
It was such a joy to meet the talented Andy Grammer. He has such a beautiful voice.
Laura Marano from Austin and Ally was such a sweetheart! We loved talking to her. There were a few other people that we met before we left.
The Thirst Gala is such an inspiring event! I encourage you to check out the Thirst Project website here.
