HOW IT STARTED
Chris Long, Joe Buck and Brad Pitt’s brother walk into a bar.
That’s the beginning of the true story of how Waterboys was founded. In the winter of 2013, Chris traveled to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro — Africa’s tallest peak.
He was celebrating completing the climb and contemplating how he might give back to a country that had given him such an amazing experience, when he ran into Joe Buck and Doug Pitt at his hotel bar. As Goodwill Ambassador to Tanzania, Pitt was in town building a sustainable water well, and Buck was along to assist.
“It’s a place where the American dollar goes a long way. Most importantly, giving the gift of clean water makes a very tangible, measurable and instant difference.”
-Chris Long
They discussed the scarcity of drinking water in Tanzania and Pitt’s experience with the issue, and by the time Long was back home, the idea for Waterboys was born.
In 2015, Chris launched Waterboys with a goal of building 32 sustainable deep borehole wells — one for each team in the NFL. Thanks to the generosity of individual donors and corporate support, Waterboys achieved the initial goal in February 2018. Through its partnership with WorldServe International, Waterboys has helped more than 570,000 people gain access to a healthier, more productive way of life.
But we aren’t done yet; in fact, we continue to expand our efforts and engage more advocates in our cause. In 2018 Waterboys expanded into the NBA with the launch of Hoops2o engaging NBA players and fans in the Waterboys mission. And in 2019, we broadened our service areas to Kenya and the United States. We remain hard at work, united by one goal: bringing clean water to 1 million people worldwide.
Our History
Waterboys makes it possible for communities to thrive and people to flourish
It’s all thanks to the selfless athletes, coaches, veterans, and fans like you, who’ve teamed up to make this possible. Check our complete timeline of how far we’ve come.
WE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO BE A PART OF OUR STORY
We believe every change in the world starts with a story. Join our team of clean water advocates who are sharing the Waterboys story and sharing their own stories to raise funds for clean water projects.