A Clear Vision Through Clean Water

by LIZA MITCHELL
Leonardo da Vinci once said, “In time and with water, everything changes.” The Jacksonville Beach-based duo Flagship Romance decided to invest their time and energy to help thousands to realize the benefits clean water. The pair is pooling all of their resources for the 2nd annual Clean Water Music Fest Saturday, August 10th at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. The event is sponsored by Venus Swimwear.

“We firmly believe that water is a basic necessity. Every human being on this planet should have access to safe, clean drinking water,” says Jordyn Jackson, one half of the duo that also features Shawn Fisher. “The response to the second annual Clean Water Music Fest has been absolutely astounding. We have had over 180 businesses donate products and services to our silent auction and raffle. Currently, we are devising ways to simply display everything that we have received.”
The festival will feature performances by the Sunbears!, the Dog Apollo, Four Families, Sam Pacetti, Chico Lobos Band, the Rubies, Oscar Mike, Dalton Cyr, Dudes on a Rug and, of course, Flagship Romance. It will also include a farmer’s market and food truck court. “We are equally as excited to be extending the times of the festival to include more of our favorite local bands that are very much into our cause. It is so nice to have an entire line-up of dedicated musicians that we know and love dearly,” says Jackson. “Also, new this year is our food truck court featuring some of the best, gourmet trucks that Northeast Florida has to offer.”
As avid supporters of the charity:water organization, Jackson and Fisher hosted the inaugural event last August in 2012 with a modest fund-raising goal of $2,500, enough to cover half of the average cost of completing a fresh water well-drilling project. That was just a drop in the bucket compared to the final tally of nearly $12,000.
“We had no idea what to expect. Our initial goal was to raise $2,500 and partially fund a well-building project. However, once Venus Swimwear jumped on as our corporate sponsor, we raised that amount to $5,000 in hopes that we could actually fund an entire well project. By the end of event when our manager, Tim Hall, gave us the final amount, the two of us just broke down into tears,” says Jackson. “With the almost $12,000 that we raised, we were able to provide two entire communities in Malawi, Africa (about 585 people) with safe, clean drinking water and basic sanitation for the next 20 years. This was all by doing what we love to do.” This year, Jackson says they are upping the ante by setting the goal a little higher. Ideally, they are hoping to pass the $12,000 mark that was nearly realized last year. “Deep down, we really want to double that amount,” she says. “The charity:water organization has multiple well-building efforts going on simultaneously around the world. charity:water runs on a 100% model. What this means is that every single penny that we donate to them from our efforts goes directly to their well-building projects.”
Jackson says she and Fisher had often asked friends and family to make donations to the cause in lieu of the typical birthday and Christmas presents and wanted to do more to promote the initiative. The pair decided to use its collective voice to spread the word about the worldwide water crisis. Jackson says they decided to record their version of Disney’s ‘A Whole New World’ and make a music video to show people ‘a whole new world’ where people are forced to walk miles upon miles every day to collect filthy water to bring home to their families, which leads to increased diseases and deaths.
“We want to use our talents to help spread awareness to those who haven’t heard about the worldwide water crisis and to help raise money to give water to those who need it most. Word is spreading throughout the city. We have been putting up posters and flyers at businesses and been approached by people asking about the Fest. Each person has said they have heard about the Clean Water Music Fest from a friend, coworker or publication. Stuff like that just makes us want to work even harder,” she says. “[With Flagship Romance] we are a given a voice and a stage. We want to be sure we use that power for good. What better way to raise awareness and funding than to organize a music festival with our favorite local bands, food trucks, and a silent auction/raffle full of our favorite local businesses?”
Donaters are assured that the funds are actually distributed by charity:water’s GPS services which verify each project. For example, last year’s well projects were both located in Malawi, Africa, and Jackson will soon be receiving the exact GPS coordinates of the wells built with the funds raised from the inaugural Clean Water Music Fest. “We cannot wait to jump on Google Earth and see them for ourselves,” she says. “We have been passionate about the clean water cause, and about what charity:water is all about for awhile now, so we’ve decided to officially align our music career with charity:water and their mission.”
For those unable to attend the Clean Water Music Fest, Jackson says there still things you can do to help, starting with word of mouth. Tell a friend about the worldwide water crisis and how just $20 can give one person clean drinking water for the next 20 years. “With that being said, for every two people that walk in the door at the Clean Water Music Fest, one more person will receive safe drinking water,” she says.
To make a donation to the Fest’s campaign and receive a free ticket to the event, visit www.mycharitywater.org/cleanwatermusicfest2.
CLEAN WATER MUSIC FEST

WHEN: Saturday, August 10, 1 pm – 11 pm.
WHERE: Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
MUSIC LINE-UP: SUNBEARS!, Flagship Romance, The Dog Apollo, Sam Pacetti, Chico Lobos Band, The Rubies, Oscar Mike, Dalton Cyr, and Dudes On A Rug.
EXTRAS: Farmer’s Market, Silent Auction and Raffle, Local Food Truck Court featuring Mother Fletcher’s, Corner Taco, The Hyppo Popsicles, On The Fly, and the debut of The Swedish Bistro. Portion of their sales go to the cause.
TICKETS: $10 donation
CAUSE: charity:water, a nonprofit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries. 100% of all public donations directly fund water projects, and they prove every dollar using photos and GPS coordinates on a map.
MORE INFO: www.cleanwatermusicfest.com
Twitter: @CleanWaterMusic