Water Works
Water Works
Laura Sauter, Team New England, T2Q4
Can one person make a difference?
Just ask Laura Sauter and she will reply with a resounding “Yes.”
Laura and her boyfriend Pat are leading an organization called Water Works — making a contribution to worldwide environmental issues. They believe we are living in the “Sustainability Revolution” era. Their goal is to have their work, volunteer and family activities contribute to a more sustainable way of life.
While there are many environmental issues in the world, one issue has stayed with them. Laura and Pat found out that there is a trash pile the size of Texas, made up mostly by plastic water bottles, floating adrift in the Pacific Ocean. To make matters worse, many endangered birds are feeding their young babies pieces of the plastic bottles because they think it is food. The entire eco-system is at risk and Laura realized she must be in action. Out of this, she and Pat created Water Works.
In the past Laura was daunted by all the issues in the world and felt too overwhelmed to take action and make a difference. As a single mother, living in a new town, with very few friends she was just surviving through her daily routine.
Laura created a breakthrough for herself in the Landmark Education Team Management and Leadership Program (TMLP). She became unstoppable, making a difference for herself, her family, and the world. Laura learned tools to help her create numerous projects and teams in her life. Now, she was finally able create the life that she loved and had a team of people supporting her along the way.
Water Works’ mission is to eradicate the use of plastic bottles, creatings a world where people are conscious of their impact and responsible for their actions. By switching to reusable metal bottles, they can help save the planet one bottle at a time. The organization shows others that one simple thing can make a difference.
The Water Works team works with schools to educate children about the impact of using plastic bottles and the benefit of using reusable metal water bottles. They have begun work with city governments to ban the sales of plastic bottles. Laura and Pat are inspiring countless people and communities. Even their kids are getting involved by teaching other kids to use reusable metal water bottles and influencing their sports team coaches to stop the use of plastic water bottles during practice and at games.
They began Water Works on the South Shore of Boston, but the movement is growing and has already been approached by towns as far away as California. Four months after beginning the organization, the team has accomplished the following: Aquarion water has agreed to install hydration stations in two local towns as well as distributing 200 reusable bottles to the public and providing water for free to businesses that want to provide hydration stations; partnering with the Chamber of Commerce in Martinez California to help them redefine their town as a green town rather than a refining town; and created a pledge to help people declare that they are part of the movement and they will no longer buy bottled water.
So, can one person make a difference? Yes one person can!
If you are interested in finding out more about Water Works, please visit their Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hingham-MA/Water-Works/154040632217?ref=ts
Written by Minling Chuang / edited by Jeff Bonar