For Delaney Boone, 17, volunteering at WaterStep may have changed the course of her future.
Delaney, and her sister Reilly Boone, 15, came to WaterStep with their YMCA group and helped clean out the new building on Myrtle Street. They also toured WaterStep’s old building, and saw the office, the warehouse and the water school.
After touring, Delaney said that they were immediately interested in what WaterStep was doing. “It is so interesting. I had never heard of anything like it,” she said.
“I liked that it was just common sense,” Reilly said. “The pumps were already there in some cases, so it only made sense to teach people how to repair them.”
The sisters, who attend Martha Layne Collins High School, decided that they could do something to help. As musicians and members of a band, themselves, they had a lot of connections with friends who were musicians. They called up their friends and put together a benefit concert, with the help of their National Honor Society group, and teacher.
On May 11, they held the concert, which featured six bands and lasted about four hours.
The cost to get into the concert was a pair of shoes. WaterStep collects shoes to fund water projects, as well as to keep waste out of landfills and boost the economy in the areas where the shoes are taken to be sold.
To date, the Boones have collected over 450 pounds of shoes for WaterStep.
Dee Dee Hurt, WaterStep’s Shoe Program Director said that the girls took charge of the event and did all the work of organizing the bands themselves. “They were incredible. The way they ran the event was great,” Hurt said.
They even set up a concession stand and have raised over $300 for WaterStep.
The event was also approved to be held again next year, and the school hopes it will become an annual event, maybe eventually inviting other nonprofits to have booths and let students learn about the different nonprofits in Louisville.
Delaney said that after volunteering at WaterStep, she could see herself working with a nonprofit long-term. She is considering majoring in Water Technology.
“After seeing so many passionate people involved here, I wanted to be that passionate too, and have that kind of job” Delaney said. “I’ve always wanted to help people in other countries, but I just didn’t know that organizations like this existed.”
Hurt said that the girls plan to volunteer more over the summer. “They are an incredible group of young people that are so excited to be involved,” she said.
Volunteers, like the Boone sisters, help WaterStep to continue to be able to do what they do. If you, or someone you know is interested in volunteering, check out our Get Involved page, and learn how you can make a difference at WaterStep.
