SOMERS POINT – One of Saint Joseph Regional School’s own recently returned to the classroom to teach youth how to help provide clean water across the globe.
Jake Holzer, who attended the school from PreK to seventh grade, visited fifth- through eighth-grade students in the school’s science lab to speak about the non-profit organization Wine To Water. He guided the students in assembling filters that will help the company provide clean water for years to come.
“I wanted students to learn a sense of compassion and empathy for others, and help them realize that their actions can have a life-saving impact,” said Holzer, a rising senior at Saint Augustine Preparatory School in Richland.
His mission began last Thanksgiving. As he and his family were preparing for dinner, a television newscast mentioned the ongoing relief efforts in western North Carolina. Two months prior, Hurricane Helene had devasted the area and destroyed homes.
“Here, I’m having this huge feast, and the people there have absolutely nothing,” he said.
Holzer began researching ways to help and found Wine to Water, a North Carolina-based nonprofit that aims to bring clean water to underserved communities.
Since 2004, the organization has supplied clean water to more than 1.72 million people in 51 countries with large-volume, long-lasting filters. According to the United Nations’ 2023 Sustainable Development Goals report, more than 2 billion people worldwide – 2.2 million in the United States – lack access to clean water.
Wine to Water initiatives include supporting local communities in North Carolina, bringing clean water to remote mountain villages in Nepal and protecting water access in the Amazon.
Doing his part, Holzer has raised more than $4,500 for the organization through his own fundraising page, “Jake’s Essential Impact,” and designed his own T-shirts, with all proceeds going to Wine To Water.
At Saint Joseph, Holzer, assisted by Wine to Water employee Emily Rea on Zoom, provided information on the impact of natural disasters. Citing the U.N. report, the two said that water treatment plants and distribution infrastructures are affected, disrupting water supplies. As well, floods and shifting ground can contaminate wells and water systems, and the water supply can be polluted with diseases, runoff and sewage.
Water infrastructure repair in these instances, Holzer continued, can take weeks and even years, leaving scarcity issues that can have lethal effects.
Noting the bottled water that is sent in relief efforts, he said that there are drawbacks, as these items require ongoing transportation/storage, are costly and generate plastic waste.
The Wine to Water filters, on the other hand, are durable, affordable, portable and eco-friendly, and can generate clean water for themselves. The filters remove 99.9% of viruses, bacteria and contaminants, and 100% of microplastics. One water filter will supply 10-plus people with clean water for more than a decade, Holzer said.
After his presentation, Holzer helped students construct water filters with materials provided by Wine to Water. At the end of his visit, 46 filters were made, which will be sent back to the organization to provide clean water to more than 460 people.
“Jake’s presentation was wonderful,” said Angela Franzoni, Saint Joseph Regional School science teacher. “It makes an impact when our students see the issues going on in the world outside themselves. They see Jake making the world better, and they think that could be them.”
Dr. Janice Fipp, school principal, said Holzer’s presentation impacted the students, faculty and her, too. She pledged to have another filter-building day in the future. “We’re going to make it a passion to do whatever we can for clean water around the world.”
Brianna Katz, a rising sixth-grader, said Holzer’s visit not only “made me realize how lucky I am to have clean water, [but] made me think about the world in a whole new perspective. I left thinking about what I could do to help. I am grateful and happy that I got to be a part of something as special as this.”
Rising eighth-grader Cecilia Bullard added that she better understands the role she could have to affect change around the globe. “Jake’s accomplishments could turn into my own.”
For more information on Holzer’s efforts, visit “Jake’s Essential Impact” at give.wtw.org/team/637474 or bonfire.com/jakes-essential-impact. For more information on Wine to Water, visit wtw.org.
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