When 19-year-old Danny Rodríguez and his sister launched BLUE Missions in Miami in 2010, their ambition was straightforward: help one community overcome the water crisis each year. Their first project brought together just 10 volunteers.
Sixteen years later, that idea has grown into an international movement. BLUE Missions is preparing to complete its 100th community water project in the Dominican Republic, reaching a milestone built by generations of communities, students, volunteers, schools and partners who believed that the water crisis is solvable.
Since 2010, BLUE has connected more than 44,000 people to clean water and more than 14,000 people to improved sanitation. More than 7,000 volunteers have traveled to the Dominican Republic through BLUE’s service-learning programs, helping inspire more than 1.3 million hours of community service. In the United States, BLUE’s REACH initiative has engaged more than 4,200 students through education, reflection and action.
BLUE’s growth remains deeply rooted in South Florida. Its programs have reached students across Archdiocese of Miami schools, Miami-Dade County Public Schools and charter networks including Academica and Charter Schools USA. Christopher Columbus High School, Rodríguez’s alma mater, and Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, his sister’s alma mater, became BLUE’s founding school partners. One annual trip has since grown into multiple summer trips from both schools.
“When my sister and I started BLUE, I was 19 years old. Ten of us showed up believing we could help one community, and we never imagined that first yes would become 100 projects and touch tens of thousands of lives. This milestone belongs to every community, student, volunteer, school and partner who chose to believe the water crisis is solvable. Project 100 is not the finish line. It is the foundation for the next 100.”
– Danny Rodríguez, CEO and Co-Founder, BLUE Missions
BLUE MISSIONS | 100TH WATER PROJECT
Building for Forever
As BLUE looks toward its next 100 projects, it is sharpening its focus on the word at the heart of its vision: forever. BLUE believes it is being called to serve as a regional leader in the technical and human engineering required for rural water systems to endure by pairing sound construction with the local leadership, shared responsibility and community ownership needed to sustain the first 100 systems while bringing safe, reliable water to the next 100.
Project 100: Los Cuervos
BLUE’s 100th community water project is now underway in Los Cuervos, a community in the María Trinidad Sánchez province of the Dominican Republic. The gravity-fed aqueduct will provide clean water access to approximately 100 families, with the final phase of construction scheduled for August 11-17, 2026.
Amazon funded the full cost of the aqueduct and provided scholarships for 21 Dominican youth to participate in BLUE’s service-immersion program. It will be the first time local Dominican youth take part in that full program experience. Angie Santibañez, Amazon’s Head of Community Engagement for Florida and Latin America, will visit the project on August 13. Amazon also served as presenting sponsor of BLUE’s annual gala earlier this year.
“Amazon is proud to support a milestone that shows what is possible when communities, young people and partners work together. The Los Cuervos aqueduct and scholarships for 21 Dominican youth invest in clean water today and local leadership for the future.”
– Angie Santibañez, Head of Community Engagement – Florida & Latin America, Amazon
From 10 volunteers to a movement reaching tens of thousands of people, project 100 is both a celebration and a renewed promise: Water For All, Forever.
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