Together We Can Build 10,000 WELLS

The Land of 10,000 WELLS started as a big idea that my friend and mentor John Hutchinson and I dreamed up while waiting for a movie to start. We imagined a world where students, teachers, and communities could come together to bring clean water to 10,000 schools around the globe. What amazes me is how quickly it stopped feeling like a dream and started becoming a real movement.

I’m lucky because I get to see the impact every week. I see students in Minnesota, Tennessee, California, and everywhere in between learning about the global water crisis and deciding they want to do something about it. They run assemblies, sell donuts, organize walks for water, create art shows, and rally their classmates. They raise money that brings clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education to partner schools around the world. More importantly, they become global change makers in the process.

One of my favorite reminders of why this work matters came from Melissa, an alum of our H2O for Life Fellowship. She recently reached out to share her experience studying abroad in Quito, Ecuador for an engineering class. She had learned about WASH challenges as a teenager in the Fellowship, but this time she saw them firsthand. Ninety seven percent of wastewater in Quito flows untreated into rivers that smaller communities rely on. Her class partnered with a local university to test the water and explore solutions. She told me her Fellowship experience was part of what pushed her to study engineering and step into real global problem solving.

That’s the spark I see over and over. A student who learns about clean water becomes a young adult who studies it. A classroom fundraiser becomes a career in service. A moment becomes a movement. This is why I love this work.

Today is Give to the Max Day which means your gift goes further. I set a personal goal of raising $2,000 because I want to fuel more students like Melissa and bring clean water to more schools that need it. Even small gifts create big ripples. Ten dollars helps a student start their first fundraiser. Twenty helps a partner school get closer to safe water. Every bit of support builds momentum.

And the momentum behind the Land of 10,000 WELLS is real. Students everywhere are stepping up. Donors everywhere are stepping up. We’re building something bigger than any one of us.

If you’ve known me for a while, you know I don’t ask lightly. But I believe in this work, I believe in these kids, and I believe in the world we’re building together. If you can give today, I’d be grateful. More importantly, students and partner schools around the world will feel the impact.

Thanks for being part of my circle and cheering on something that fills my cup every day.

Doug