CANA
Vol. 1, Issue 6 September 2014 Issue
CANA
Vol. 1, Issue 6
September
CANA [KAY-nuh]: A small village in Galilee where Jesus performed the
miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding. The miraculous but simple gift allowed the community gathered to continue in celebration. We strive to expand our global community by providing clean water to those in need (John 2:1-11). “CANA” is Wine to Water’s digital monthly publication for you to stay up to date with what we are doing and what we hope to do.
Table of Contents Field Update: Honduras Page 3
Read our update on projects in Honduras from CEO/President Allen Peterson, who has been on the ground with Founder/International President Doc Hendley.
‘Laying the Groundwork Pages 4-8
Wine to Water’s very first campus chapter was created by the same person who now oversees every chapter in America. Learn more about Media/Campus Coordinator Josh Elliott’s time with Wine to Water from his college days to now.
Staff Highlight
Page 9 This month’s highlight focuses on Whitney Hendley, the organization’s Events/Church Coordinator.
Upcoming Events
Page 10 Want to know what Wine to Water has coming up in the future? Make sure to check out our list of upcoming events to stay up to date.
Wine to Water’s US staff consists of 5 full-time and 5 part-time members. We consider ourselves family but live in different parts of the country and are seldom in the same place at once. We are united by our passion for clean water and the joy we get from working with our local partners on the ground. Wine To Water has worked in 17 countries. We have ongoing projects in 8 countries on 4 continents, and support 30 international aid workers. Wine to Water is a non-profit organization with the goal of providing clean water to those who do not have access to it. Through fundraisers, wine sales and donations, our team works to give the gift of easily-accessible clean water everyday to people just like us. -2-
FIELD UPDATE: Honduras How did Wine to Water get connected on the ground in Honduras? Allen Peterson: Wine to Water got connected to Honduras through Word Alive - a church in Alabama that supports our work. Word Alive asked us to go to Honduras to explore projects there. Who is our partner on the ground? Peterson: Our ground partner is APP - Agua para los Pueblos. Since 1978, APP has done over 1,000 water projects in Honduras. What kind of projects will Wine to Water be doing? Peterson: APP and UNICEF are doing a project in La Mosquitia, which is the northern coast of Honduras along the Caribbean. The project will last for three years and will bring clean water and latrines to 15 schools in La Mosquitia, which is inhabited by the Miskito Indians. APP and Wine to Water will bring clean water and sanitation to the homes surrounding these schools. What are the future plans, include specific areas? Peterson: APP and Wine to Water will work in the same areas where UNICEF is working - 15 villages in La Mosquitia. Will volunteers be working here in the future? Peterson: Volunteer trips will be planned in several of these villages, starting as early as January/February of 2015.
“
Visiting La Mosquitia is like going to the Garden of Eden. It
borders beautiful, clear lagoons and the Caribbean. It is ribboned with clear streams. No electricity, no phones, no jobs. It is a
collection of small tribal villages within walking distance of each
other with everyone living off the the land and sea. But, there is a desperate need for water and sanitation. There was no single
moment worth retelling. But Doc [Hendley] and I left knowing we had to help these simple yet beautiful people.
Allen Peterson
CEO/President
-3-
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK Josh Elliott helped start Wine to Water’s first campus chapter. Now, as a full-time staff member of the nonprofit, he oversees all the campus chapters around the U.S.
His weekly commute to
work is usually on his Harley motorcycle through the
winding, sloping and scenic
backroads of Boone, N.C., a place he never thought he would be after graduating
Story by Michael Bragg
from college.
Josh Elliott, who has
described himself as a bit of a
introverted black sheep, is part of the reason why Wine to
Water has accomplished and established what it has
through social media, the
Internship Program, volunteer trips and -- most importantly -- the Chapter Program.
The Media/Campus Coordinator at Wine to Water not only helped create other
avenues of awareness and
volunteer opportunities for
the organization, but found a place for himself along the
way with a group of people he now refers to as the most generous he’s ever met.
-4-
Starting out Josh first heard about Wine to Water during his college days at Appalachian State University, located in walking distance from the nonprofit’s main office. After hearing Founder and International President Doc Hendley speak on campus for an event, Josh and a friend decided to start a club at Appalachian connected to Wine to Water, and to do what they could to fight the global water crisis and bring awareness of it to others. “My first impression was that this is a very genuine organization, and by genuine I mean people who are simply wanting to help people all over the world no matter what,” he said. “I realized right then and there that I wanted to be a part of it.” While serving as the president of the first ever campus chapter of Wine to Water, Josh was impressed with the amount of attention ASU Wine to Water was receiving. “Luckily, people on campus and around town already knew what Wine to Water was, but honestly we were surprised at how many people were excited to come to the initial meeting and get involved,” he said. “We almost didn’t know what to do with all the people willing to help.” But all new, and even existing, clubs come with its set of challenges. “As an individual and a leader of the group, it showed me a lot about what not to do, I made a lot of mistakes at first,” he said. “It was Wine to Water’s first chapter, so we quickly figured out what works and what doesn’t work.”
“
When I think of Josh and all he has done for Wine to Water it is hard to measure. He is many things to our Wine to Water community -- a jack-of-all-trade if you will. He is the man behind the curtain not always getting the spotlight, but always delivering 100 percent. He is steady and in a world full of uncertainty. It is nice to call him a friend and colleague. Whitney Hendley, Events/Church Coordinator
Fortunately, Josh and the early members were able to turn those situations into learning experiences, which would later be just as helpful when he created the Chapter Program. “As we’ve replicated that initial App State model on other campuses we’ve seen it take a life of its own.” he said, “Other students have improved upon our initial model and made it their own.” The program today Josh was hired to the Wine to Water staff as the Media/Campus Coordinator in January
2012 shortly after graduating from Appalachian in December 2011 with a degree in public relations. While most college students and their Wine to Water chapters don’t have enormous amounts of money to put toward the nonprofit’s cause, Josh has noticed during his time at Appalachian an abundant supply of resources that students have plenty of to give: time and service.
-5-
“Right away we saw the benefits of organizing students around the idea of clean water, so quickly we thought, ‘This could be replicated at other universities,’” he said. “We already have students supporting it, why not challenge them to support their own campus chapter?” Since then, Wine to Water has added 12 college campus chapters and two high school chapters in the United States. Many are located in North Carolina and in the southeast, but others spread out to campuses such as Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis and College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. And like the initial chapter at Appalachian, these chapters raise awareness of the global water crisis through fundraising and awareness events on campus and in the community. “We try to give them ownership over their chapter’s service by challenging them to come up with something they can do to benefit Wine to Water, that may be organizing a volunteer service trip, helping us get connected to local businesses in their area or it may be on campus throwing events and making people more aware of Wine to Water and the water crisis.” Josh has most recently encouraged students at various chapters to get involved with volunteer work. Students at Appalachian and West Texas A&M have already gone into the field, with students at Florida International University gearing up for a trip next year. “Whether it’s during their spring break, winter break or over the summer, we want them to begin planning to serve on a volunteer service trip,” he said. “It not only improves them as a person, but also improves their chapter and their school’s credibility and service.”
“
Josh has been very helpful in guiding us and providing us with great ideas and materials. He has made us feel really connected to the organization and like we are more than just another school club. Ana Correa, Sophomore Advertising and Public Relations Major at Florida International University
From expanding the number of chapters where Wine to Water is present and encouraging a number students to volunteer in the field, Josh’s efforts have not gone unnoticed by his coworkers. “You can see his solid character throughout all his work with Wine to Water, but especially the Chapter Program,” Lisa Merritt, Volunteer Coordinator, said. “He wants students to become aware of the water crisis and experience what he did as a student, which motivated him to establish and grow the Chapter Program and the organization as a whole." Likewise, the students he works with to help start their chapters and keep them in the loop with news from Wine to Water have taken notice of Josh’s work. “Josh has supported each and every event,” said Dillon Vess, a senior at UNC Chapel Hill and founding member of the
-6-
feel accepted,” Josh said. “I kind of felt like a black sheep in a way, so for me the effort to start the chapter helped me to begin filling that void that I was feeling.”
university’s chapter. “I can’t say enough good things about Josh. He’s passionate, hard working, smart, and leads by pious example. Josh is instrumental to our chapter at Carolina.”
And through finding a way for himself and others, Josh found himself among the staff of Wine to Water, who helped restore his faith in others.
More than a program Josh did not help start the first campus chapter of Wine to Water in 2009 because he knew it would one day lead to a job in the Appalachian Mountains with the benefits of travelling the U.S. for events and the world for field work. He did it to help him find his own way.
“I quickly learned how extraordinary they were and the work that they were doing,” he said. “In a lot of ways, Wine to Water restored my faith in people; it allowed me to grow as man, I truly consider them family.”
“When I first started hearing about Wine to Water, I hadn’t found anything that I really felt a part of or that made me
And Josh sees others like him at the various college chapters. But just as importantly as seeing students who were
Wine to Water Campus Chapters Colleges & Universities
10
11 7
12
13 9 1 14
6
2 4 8
5
1 Appalachian State University 2 University of North Carolina at Greensboro 3 Florida International University (Two Campus Chapters) 4 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 5 Emory University 6 West Texas A&M University 7 Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis 8 North Carolina State University 9 Virginia Tech 10 College of the Holy Cross 11 Saint Mary's College 12 Indiana University East
High Schools
3
-7-
13 St. Christopher's High School 14 Watauga High School
like him, Josh sees a diverse mix of students organized around the idea of clean water.
opportunities to give back but it also gives a business school a good model of how a nonprofit or business is run,” he said. “And, it gives a sustainability department the opportunity to see real work being done in the field effectively.”
“It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve been and what you’re doing,” he said. “You can be a part of Wine to Water, all that matters is that you’re passionate about giving people clean water and you’re passionate about loving people. There are so many students who have that mindset, they’ve been given the opportunity to get involved because of the Chapter Program and to me that makes it all worth it.”
Josh hopes to see the programs and people involved in them grow to the hundreds across the country that can ultimately contribute back to Wine to Water. But even with those broad goals in mind, he still hopes that the program, or even his story, can help inspire at least one student out there like him while he was in college.
Where it’s going Aside from the Chapter Program empowering students to raise awareness and work in the field, Josh sees the potential for it to do more in the sense of service within the educational system.
“I’d like to just say to any student who is on the fence about getting involved with Wine to Water or with anything that they are passionate about, don’t think about all that could go wrong, don’t just go through the motions and play it safe,” he said. “Take that first step toward making your goal happen and you’ll be so surprised at how you’re rewarded in the end.”
“Wine to Water gives not only students extracurricularly
“
I quickly learned how extraordinary they were and the work that they were doing,” he said. “In a lot of ways, Wine to Water restored my faith in people; it allowed me to grow as man, I truly consider them family. Josh Elliott, Campus/Media Coordinator -8-
GET TO KNOW US Meet
Whitney Hendley
____________________________
Events/Church Coordinator , _________________________
What’s on your bucket list? Fly in a hot air ballon ___________________
Your favorite Wine to Water wine: Cabernet ___________________ Windows or Mac? Mac... every day ___________________
Do you speak any other languages? No ___________________
First live concert? Tim McGraw ___________________
What beer did you drink last? Coors Light ___________________
What’s the last book you read? “Same Kind of Different As Me” ___________________ by Ron Hall & Denver Moore
First Car? Honda ___________________
Where have you traveled?
X Las Vegas X Los Angeles
X Italy
X Cambodia X Malawi X Australia
In the Blue Ridge Mountains Your favorite place to be: __________________________ -9-
UPCOMING EVENTS Operation Good Shepherd hosts Neighborhood Game Night to benefit Wine to Water When: Nov. 1 Where: Arlington Lakes Golf Club 1211 S. New Wilke Rd. Arlington, Ill. 60005 About: Contact Whitney Hendley at whitney@winetowater.org for more information on where to buy tickets. State Club Red & White Food and Beverage Festival When: Nov. 4, 6-9 p.m. Where: The State Club 2450 Alumni Dr Raleigh, N.C. 27606 About: Tickets must be purchased in advance and are on sale now at redandwhitefestival2014.eventbrite.com. Special promo code "red" will get you $5 off general admission tickets. Just One Shift- Fall 2014 When: Nov. 24-30 About: Bartenders and servers worldwide are rallying again to reach our goal of $100,000 in 2014. For more information on Just One Shift and how to participate, visit justoneshift.com. High Country Homebuilders Association Playhouse Raffle About: High Country Home Builders Association is raffling off a custom built, one of a kind playhouse to benefit Wine To Water. Raffle tickets are just $5! The winner will be chosen on December 6th at the Project Playhouse Culmination event at the Builders Plaza Banquet Hall. You can purchase your playhouse raffle ticket at highcountryhba.com.
UPCOMING ISSUE The October issue of CANA will highlight our events program. Learn more about the many ways our amazing supporters have helped us throughout the years. We hope to inspire you to hold your own event in the future. Keep an eye out for this issue on Oct. 2.
winetowater.org @winetowater
Follow us on
facebook.com/WineToWater
#winetowater