These are not your mother's pancakes. Brady Phelps is on a mission to help bring clean water to the 663 million people who don't have access to it — and he's doing it, incredibly, one custom flapjack at a time.
The father of two is putting his considerable talents to use for charity: water, which funds sustainable, community-owned water projects — including wells and purification systems — in 24 countries around the world.
Phelps' fundraiser, which he launched as part of the organization's September Campaign, offers frame-worthy pancakes in exchange for $100 donations. He claims he's "not an artist," but you might disagree after seeing some of his hot-off-the-griddle creations.
Using squeeze bottles filled with colored batter, Phelps has cooked up pancake versions of Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night, Finding Nemo's Dory, Washington Nationals superstar Bryce Harper, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Donatello — among others.
"Donate $100 [or more] to this campaign, and you can request any kind of pancake. Anything," he says on his charity: water page. "Fire up your imagination…and I'll fire up my griddle, and do my best."
Phelps posts the creations on his Twitter (@LobShots) and Instagram (@ThePancakeDad), sharing both photos and time-lapse videos of his handiwork. (For donations of $1,000 or more, he'll box up the pancake and send it anywhere in the U.S.)
According to a Q&A he did with Uni-Watch, each pancake takes between two and seven minutes to create. He uses pictures he finds online for inspiration, then "mentally copies" a reverse image onto the griddle.
"I practiced a lot. At least once a week for over four years now," Phelps told the site.
As of Monday, Oct. 5, the campaign had raised more than $35,900 — enough to provide clean water for 1,196 people. "100% of the money will be used to build clean water projects for people in need," Phelps writes. "You can give a little or a lot. The craziest thing we can do is nothing."
