Porter makes a splash

When you spend as much time in the pool as 16 year-old Porter from Danville, CA, you can't help but think about water.

The importance of water in Porter's life, coupled with his global awareness and dedication to community service, led him to organize a Swim-a-thon that raised over $9,000! While many of his peers chose to work in local soup kitchens, Porter had a greater vision: he wanted to do something that would make a global impact.

Porter, a varsity swimmer and water polo player, spends his life in water. The connection was obvious: while his identity is bound up with water, there are nearly a billion people worldwide who don't even have access to safe water for drinking. Those are the very people who he wanted to help.

The junior learned about WaterAid through a friend of his. After researching the organization in depth and realizing the great work that WaterAid does to serve communities globally, Porter dove into preparations.

After talking to his swim coach and getting permission to use the school's pool for his fundraising Swim-a-thon, he started to promote the event. He got the word out through his friends, his varsity swim team's networks and his grandfather's contacts. On the day, he and 37 of his team mates swam a total of 6754 laps. More than 110 people contributed to this initiative.

Porter demonstrates that anyone of any age with good intentions can make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable people worldwide who lack access to safe water and sanitation.

You could organize a fundraising event for WaterAid America too.  A good first step is to set up an online fundraising page with FirstGiving.  You can personalize your page with photos and inspiring messages and then send a link to all your friends and family to promote your event. 

Some of the swimmers who participated in the Swim-a-thon.