Founded | 2006 |
---|---|
Founder | Ryan Groves, Jason Harvey, and Brendan Groves |
Type | Non-governmental organization |
Location | |
Area served | 10 countries |
Website | www |
Wishing Well: Water for the World is 501(c)(3) public charity, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Wishing Well: Water for the World was founded by college students at Pepperdine University in spring of 2006, the headquarters then moved to Oklahoma Christian University in the fall of 2006. Wishing Well: Water for the World empowers communities to transform their world by providing water to those in need. [1]
Students at Pepperdine raised the money for three water wells funded through Blood Water Mission. Their efforts were noticed by Laura Bush 2007, she said, "...Clean water, it's so simple. It's something all of us can do, even college students. We can go to a village and build a water well, and we know things are going to be better than they were. So far, students (at Pepperdine University) have raised about $14,000 for Wishing Well. Your efforts have already helped put a clean-water pump in a rural town near Nairobi, and this summer, two more will be installed—another in Kenya, and one in The Gambia, near a World Bible School. Because of your generosity, hundreds of children will have access to clean water—and the hope of good health." [2]
In fall of 2006, the headquarters of Wishing Well moved to Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Students at Oklahoma Christian University started fundraising by putting on a night of prayer and hosting a student art gallery on campus. Oklahoma Christian students Ryan Groves, Travis Hughes, Taylor Walling, Joshua Burgin, Whitney Parker, and Chase Layman used a portion of the funds raised to fly to Rwanda to film a documentary about the water crisis. Wishing Well grew, and they started chapters at schools and churches around the United States. [3]
Wishing Wells documentary, One Drop, premiered at the town hall theater on Time Square in New York City. The NON, Rock Wagon Live Painters, David Bowden Poetry and Ester Havens Photography [4] were featured at the event. [5]
Wishing Well partnered with Toms shoes in November 2010, where 250 High School and College students walked barefoot for 2 miles through downtown Oklahoma City, carrying water jugs. They walked on stage where they were joined by Hanson, Sandi Patty and Eric Logan. [6]
Ryan Groves spoke about responding to crisis with creativity. He outlined using human empowerment to end the water crisis. [7] [8]
WIshing well has funded several wells through Blood Water Mission, Living Water International and Charity: Water. Wishing Well has shared some of their photos from their Africa trip with Charity: Water and held events with them. Wishing Well partnered with Blake Mycoskie in a barefoot water walk in downtown Oklahoma City. Wishing Well has partnered with Water 4 to dig several well in Rwanda.
Currently, Wishing Well is building hand dug wells that only use materials that are sourceable in country. When they go to dig a well, they teach residents how to build a well so they can start a well digging companies. [9]
Oklahoma City, officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and is the 8th largest city in the Southern United States. The population grew following the 2010 census and reached 681,054 in the 2020 census. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area had a population of 1,396,445, and the Oklahoma City–Shawnee Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,469,124, making it Oklahoma's largest municipality and metropolitan area by population.
The Oklahoma City Baseball Club is a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, which opened in 1998 in the city's Bricktown district.
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Robert Harlan Henry is a former United States Circuit Judge and politician from Oklahoma, and was the 17th President of Oklahoma City University. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Henry formerly served as the Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1986 to 1991, before resigning early in his second term to become the dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he remained until 1994. President Bill Clinton appointed Henry as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, a position he held until he resigned in 2010 to return to Oklahoma City University as president. He retired as President of Oklahoma City University in 2018, and has since worked as an attorney specializing in mediation, moot courts, and appellate advocacy.
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Living Water International is a faith-based non-profit organization that helps communities in developing countries to create sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs in response to the global water crisis. It is based in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1990 and currently operates in 17 countries. As of 2024, the organization had completed more than 24,000 water projects which included drilling new water wells, harvesting water, and the rehabilitation of non-working wells. Living Water was a founding member of the Millennium Water Alliance, and is a member of the 58 Alliance, a coalition of Christian organizations united to help eliminate extreme poverty.
Charity: water is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 that provides drinking water to people in developing nations. As of 2019, the organization has raised $370 million. According to the organization, by October 2024, it has funded more than 171,000 projects in 29 countries though it does not know how many of the projects are still functional.
Oklahoma Christian University (OC) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1950 by members of the Churches of Christ.
Water For People was founded in 1991 by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) as a response to the increasing water scarcity in developing countries. It is a nonprofit international development organization that helps people in rural parts of developing countries achieve greater access to drinkable and potable water and sanitation facilities. It works to accomplish the United Nations' 6th Sustainable Development Goal: availability of clean water and sanitation and comprehensive monitoring of freshwater facilities for the progression of human health. They seek to address the issue of nonexistent and suboptimal water and sanitation facilities across less-developed countries. With developing locally sustainable drinking water resources and sanitation facilities, Water For People also works to bring health and hygiene education programs to local districts. The non-governmental organization also works to empower and involve local governments, corporations, schools, homes, and individuals in the construction, financing, and maintenance of the water infrastructure. Water For People has established a year-round presence in 30 districts of nine developing countries, including Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru, India, Rwanda, Uganda and Malawi. In totality, Water For People reaches 4 million people.
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Lily Yeh is an artist whose work has taken her to communities throughout the world. She grew up in Taiwan and moved to the United States in 1963 to attend the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts. She was a professor of painting and art history at University of the Arts (Philadelphia) from 1968 until 1998. As founder and executive director of The Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia from 1986 to 2004, she helped create a national model in creative place-making and community building through the arts. In 2002, Yeh pursued her work internationally, founding Barefoot Artists, Inc. In addition to the United States, she has carried out projects in several other countries.
World Vision Canada is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization working to create lasting change in the lives of children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Based in Mississauga, Ontario, World Vision Canada is the largest private relief and development agency in Canada. It is a part of the World Vision Partnership led by World Vision International.
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