One thing that has driven Blood:Water for the last 14 years is that we know the great impact many individuals can make together. We first witnessed this when Blood:Water founder, Dan Haseltine, called on each person at a Jars of Clay concert to give $1; the result was the exact amount that the organization needed to help build its first well in Africa.

Still today, we see the impact our partners make when they mobilize their communities to fight the water crisis, and we see the impact our Community:Builders make when they faithfully give to our mission each month. However, we witness one of the strongest testaments to the impact of people working together to end the water crisis in Africa through our fundraisers.

Bethany Christian School in northern Indiana, “dedicated to holistic learning where faith lives and learning lasts,” is home to Brent Reinhardt’s 10th grade Geography and History of the World classes. Inspired by Blood:Water’s mission and what they were learning in class about the water crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, Mr. Reinhardt challenged his students to work together to make a difference.

They set their fundraising goal at $500 to provide 10 people in Africa with clean water, sanitation, and hygiene for life. They exceeded their goal in 10 days!

“In the first week several donations came in but then one anonymous donor dropped $500 into the pot. When I saw that I couldn’t believe my eyes. Some family was passionate and generous enough to give a large donation,” Mr. Reinhardt said. “I’ve continued to encourage students to make donations even though our goal is met. Wanting to do something and actually clicking the buttons and sending money are two different things.”

He has decided to challenge his students to fundraise for Blood:Water every year when they study sub-Saharan Africa.