We're also so stoked about the results from our only-one-week-a-year Wine Day Impact campaign (May 25-June 2). Thanks to 4,027 new Apolis bag owners we raised $21,190 for charity: water so that 190 people in Nepal will have clean drinking water.

charity: water was established in 2006 with the mission of bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. We're thrilled to partner with them in our Wine Day Impact campaign, which kicked off on May 25 (National Wine Day). For only one week out of the year (May 25 – June 2), we released our customizable and ethically handcrafted wine tote. During that week, $5 from every Apolis bag sold (not just the wine tote, but every bag) was donated to charity: water. Since charity: water has a separate fundraising model for their staff and overhead, 100% of that $21,190 donation goes to bringing clean and safe drinking water to 190 people in Nepal.

The water projects we're funding are in Nepal, a hilly region where women can walk over two and a half hours to collect water for their families and cattle every day. Clean water changes everything. Access to clean water improves health, gives kids an opportunity to go to school, and gives women more time to earn an income. Clean water means better futures for families around the world. Learn more about charity: water's work in Nepal here.

The water projects will be complete in 21 months. Thanks to charity: water's insane attention to detail and desire to help you and I track every dollar, if you purchased a bag between May 25 and June 2, you'll receive an email from Apolis by Spring 2021 that will share images and GPS coordinates of our water projects - so you can see the impact for yourself!

Why charity: water? 
While Raan and I were still in college, we traded emails with charity: water's founder Scott Harrison. We had the pleasure of getting to know and spend time with him. In fact, Apolis has worked together with charity: water in the past several times — raising funds for Haiti, shooting a film at their headquarters, and having Scott speak at our former location in New York City.

Why Nepal? 
Our first artisan collaboration was in Nepal: we teamed up with our friends at Rapha to share the story of a knitting cashmere cooperative in the Himalayas. Along the way, we learned that Nepal has become the adventure capital for cyclists worldwide. So we decided to collaborate with Rapha in making a cashmere-and-merino-wool trainee sweater designed to be the ideal piece of clothing a cyclist would wear after a long bucket-list ride at the base of the Himalayas (watch the short film about this collaboration below). Through the whole process, we fell in love with Nepal, so we're thrilled to be able to now partner with charity: water to benefit communities within this beautiful country.

Below are some pics from charity: water from their work in Nepal trip — along with some pics of the limited-edition Customized Wine Tote, which came out for 24 hours only on August 4th.

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