by Brande Jackson

last stop water hope

After working with over 100 volunteers and getting 5000 new supporters for clean water initiatives, Water = Hope wrapped up another fun summer with the Brad Paisley H2O tour!

Our last weekend started out in rainy Philadelphia, where we were still able to have a great night - Philly was one of our best stops on the 2010 tour! - thanks to a hard working volunteer team that braved the elements to talk to fans and build support. We could not have done it without them!

The next day the tour stopped in Bristow, VA, outside of Washington DC. We were joined by a repeat volunteer, Ashley, who brought along her sister this time around, as well as a  hardworking (and very funny!) father-daughter team, and two high school friends who were accompanied by mom. Our team did great, talking to hundreds of fans about the importance of clean water; in fact, two of our volunteers signed up over 300 people all on their own, a very impressive feat. And, for the first time in a looooong time, we had a show with no rain, a change we were very grateful for!

Raleigh was the final stop of the tour this year, and we were excited to wrap things up with a big volunteer crew of 10, including about five volunteers who were joining us for the second year in a row. They worked hard to help us end the tour on a great note.

All in all, it was an amazing summer full of incredible volunteers, supportive fans, and lots of love from the Brad Paisley crew. At the end of the day, going out on tour with an artist is really about the chance to use music as a connecting force, and we were reminded time and time again this summer of the compassionate nature of the country community.  We are excited to see how many lives are impacted by the work of our volunteers and supporters from this summer!