A dollar buys an iTunes song.

A candy bar.

A drink from a vending machine.

Most of the things from the dollar store.

And more than a month of fresh water to drink.

Around the world, close to a billion people lack clean drinking water. The problem is not always the scarcity of water, but lacking the financial means to acquire and purify water for drinking.

For the past seven years the Junior World Affairs Council has been joining the movement to educate, raise money, and make the public aware of this problem, through their TAP project. Every dollar raised provides the equivalent of 40 days of clean drinking water for one person.

JWAC students have been walking around the past two weeks with bottles filled with dirty water and a label reading, “Ask me about my water bottle,” and buckets that say “Fill My Bucket to Fill Theirs.” JWAC members ask students if they would drink the dirty water in the water bottle. Unless the student is trying to make a joke, the answer is no. After the students respond, JWAC members explain how millions of people drink dirty water like the one in the bottle, and how just one dollar can make a difference.

It’s time to join the movement to help bring clean water to everyone on the earth. Clean water is not a privilege, it’s a basic human need and right. There’s a random crumbled dollar bill in your pocket and there are two quarters, four dimes and two nickels in your drawer just lying around not being put to use. Find your nearest JWAC member and fill their bucket so they can fill somebody else’s.

But the problem doesn’t stop after JWAC ends their drive next week on Earth day. There are still multiple ways to help. You can help by going to the movies next Wednesday at 6:10 p.m. to the Carmike 5 to see the new Disney film, The Monkey Kingdom. Out of the $7.25 you pay, which includes a small popcorn, a voucher and your movie ticket, $5 goes to JWAC’s TAP project.

You can also continue to donate money to Project Humanity, as well as get information about the water situation around the world. Another way to help the UNICEF Tap Project is by using the one device you think you can’t live without- your phone.  You just sign into the website on your phone, and for every 15 minutes that you don’t use it, it donates a day of clean water. More organizations and ways to donate and stay informed can be found online with just a click of a button.

It’s easy to take water for granted when you’re able to buy a 12 pack of water bottles for $4.99, or when you’re able too take a sip of water from a water fountain. When’s the last time your dollar was able to save somebody’s life? Or the last time it benefited someone other than yourself? You don’t need that snack from the vending machine you’re craving, but that person who hasn’t ever had clean water to drink does need that dollar to survive. Join the movement, make a difference, and help bring clean water to those in need.