Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World
by Scott Harrison
Vision, I once read, isn’t the thing you’re doing now, but the thing you’re always going to be doing in the future. “The hopes and dreams in a mother’s heart are the same anywhere in the world.”
Vision, I once read, isn’t the thing you’re doing now, but the thing you’re always going to be doing in the future.
“The hopes and dreams in a mother’s heart are the same anywhere in the world.”
According to the United Nations, every $1 invested in clean water turns into $4 to $8 in economic returns.
was so proud of our team. This is what charity: water is all about, I thought. Tonight, we didn’t just help another 310 communities get clean water. We also brought great joy to 400 people here in New York. We proved that pure giving—the kind that comes from deep within your heart, the kind where you expect nothing in return—can be a powerful and life-changing experience.
People always ask how we scored so many wins early on and what my process was for turning a no into a yes. Truthfully, the nos stayed nos most of the time. No, we don’t have the budget. No, that’s not a part of our giving strategy. No, sorry, but touch base with me next year. But I simply asked so many people that eventually I gathered enough yeses to get things done.
"Vision, I once read, isn’t the thing you’re doing now, but the thing you’re always going to be doing in the future."
"“The hopes and dreams in a mother’s heart are the same anywhere in the world.”"
"According to the United Nations, every $1 invested in clean water turns into $4 to $8 in economic returns."
"It was the way he’d framed our mission: “the kind of faith that moves mountains.” The president of the United States was affirming the driving force that still gets me up every single morning: faith in action. In other words, not a religion-only, church-only, talk-only, judge-your-neighbor faith, but a faith that takes action. A faith that says we are going to get a hundred million people clean water because a bunch of people around the world got together and decided to do something about this enormous problem."
"Even if I say it a different way—one out of every eleven kids here dies before kindergarten age—it’s still just a number, a foreign fact. I think we’re all guilty of becoming numb to the world’s suffering, maybe even of fooling ourselves into thinking that these mothers must know that death is a distinct possibility, like somehow that makes the death of a child easier. But nothing could be further from the truth."
"In the beginning, we spent most of our money on photo/video gear and trips to Africa—and most of our time creating videos and writing stories. Conventional wisdom says that you don’t start a charity by prioritizing content, but I believed we needed compelling stories about real people who were drinking bad water. Without them, there would be nothing to talk about, nothing to inspire donors to care or give."
"was so proud of our team. This is what charity: water is all about, I thought. Tonight, we didn’t just help another 310 communities get clean water. We also brought great joy to 400 people here in New York. We proved that pure giving—the kind that comes from deep within your heart, the kind where you expect nothing in return—can be a powerful and life-changing experience."
- →Vision, I once read, isn’t the thing you’re doing now, but the thing you’re always going to be doing in the future.
- →I’d been trying to teach our team the anatomy of a pitch—how to tell your personal story, explain why you care, cite past successes for credibility, and invite the person you’re pitching to help—because why wouldn’t they want to be a part of something this incredible?
- →“Everything you do is a clue for other people about how it is and isn’t okay to behave,” she said. “When you yawn during a presentation, or miss a deadline, or interrupt a speaker, you’re telling everyone that that behavior is acceptable.”
- →There’s an old rabbinic saying that I love: “Do not be afraid of work that has no end.” That’s how I’ve come to see this journey.
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