E! Online

A True Need

Thu., Jul. 21, 2011 5:19 PM PDT by Ashlan Gorse

Courtesy Generosity Water

Humans only need three things: water, food and shelter.

I was born into a loving family who was able to provide me with everything. I always had amazing food around the dinner table, a beautiful house to live in, cool clothes to wear to school and help with my homework. I am so lucky.

For my 30th birthday, I decided I wanted to do something big to help others. I wanted to spread my good fortune and blessings. That's when I found out about 1 billion people in the world don't have access to clean water. ONE BILLION PEOPLE. Saying I took my clean water for granted is an overstatement. To tell you the truth, I didn't even think about it. I turned on the faucet and it came out, I flushed the toilet and it was there, I could go to the store and buy it whenever I wanted. To think that some people don't have clean water was mind-boggling to me.

Through my co-worker and friend Jason Kennedy, I was introduced to a great organization called Generosity Water (generositywater.org). They are an amazing non-profit who build wells in impoverished communities. With each well, they change the lives of countless humans and I wanted to play a part, so I sponsored one.

My well was commissioned in May and now it's up and running. Located in the Eastern region of Ghana, it is now providing 900 people with clean water. But it wasn't until I saw the smiles on the villagers faces, that I truly realized the impact one little well can make. 

filed under Ashlan Gorse

Bio

Ashlan Gorse joined E! News in May 2008 as a correspondent and fill-in anchor, covering everything from red carpet premieres to breaking news. Before joining E! News, Ashlan was the host of E! News Now.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism with a BA in broadcasting and a minor in music, Ashlan began her professional career in the exclusive NBC Page Program in NYC. Working on shows like Saturday Night Live, the Today show and Conan O'Brien only fueled her love for all things entertainment.

Ashlan then climbed her way up at Access Hollywood in Manhattan, going from production assistant to field producer before continuing on to MSNBC as a reporter and segment producer for its weekend entertainment shows, Hot List and At the Movies. Her Southern charm led her to be a coach for MTV's Made.

In 2006, she moved to Los Angeles as the editor at large for Life & Style magazine and has since appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, the Today show, The CBS Early Show, CNN, TV Guide and The Insider as a pop-culture and gossip guru.

Ashlan has become a permanent fixture on the red carpet, covering the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes and Grammys. She has interviewed such Hollywood luminaries as Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Robert Downey Jr. and many more.

When she's not obsessing over celebrity culture, Ashlan loves fashion, sweet tea and stilettos.