by Brande Jackson

The Water = Hope campaign spent the past weekend in North Carolina with the H2O tour, getting even more country music fans involved with our campaign to bring people around the globe clean drinking water! We arrived in Charlotte on Friday morning and got to work, setting up for the day and preparing for our volunteer crew. We had 11 amazing volunteer join us: Joe, a volunteer from Cleveland, came out with his friend, and we had several groups of high school and college friends joining us as well.

The clinic went very well. We saw easily 3,000 plus patients a day and were out there for 6 days for a total of well over 16,000 patients in the end. The other two villages we visited were not as exuberant in the welcoming, but they were happy to receive medical attention nonetheless. I found I became rather adjusted to being completely covered in dirt while out there.

President Bush traveled to Haiti this week to witness the rebuilding efforts firsthand, meet with Haitians about their immediate needs and future hopes, and visit with organizations that are assisting in the rebuilding effort with support from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

Highlight the good – This summer has been extraordinary. I have been given an opportunity to see first hand how one or two committed individuals can make a positive impact on an entire community. Over twenty years ago, one man was impacted by the needs in his community. It began with one can of food distributed by one man and has since developed into a multi-faceted grassroots organization – Of One Accord, Inc. – which provides vital services to its community members. But in addition to these services, the agency wears many hats. It’s a social network – community members from every walk of life congregate together and discuss ways to improve the living and working conditions in their communities or they simply stop by to say ‘howdy.’ It’s an advocate – men and women, young and old identify local needs, voice their concerns and develop initiatives that are sometimes provocative, sometimes cutting-edge and sometimes counter cultural. It’s hope – over 300 committed individuals volunteer with the agency each year, many year after year, and willingly give of themselves, their time and resources to lend a helping hand to someone in need.