Paper For Water has quickly blossomed into a community project. In our Dallas and North Texas community, over 1,000 people have been taught how to fold origami, and approximately 3,000 people have learned about the world water crisis. While working to bring clean water to the third world, we discovered that there are many people here in the United States who are also “thirsty” — thirsty for meaning. We have witnessed first-hand the need and virtue of service, that there is a dramatic change in the giver. Organizations as large as National Charity League, the Girl Scouts, and several local school clubs have turned to us to help their members do volunteer service hours. When volunteering, people often think of those they are helping, and in this selfless act of working to improve the lives of children halfway around the world, it helps them develop a compassionate way of life, less self-centered and with a sense of purpose. When you give a lot, you get a lot back in return, and sometimes you get more than you gave. There are “thirsty” individuals we have worked with at Letot Center, a youth detention center, who have for the first time found an opportunity to do something worthwhile with their lives. They experience their kindness to someone halfway around the world cannot be repaid. And it is these youth in detention, many classified as adults and bound for the state penitentiary, who are saving lives and allowing children to go to school. It is empowering and, in their own words, satisfying for these youths who have felt like they have reached a dead-end in their lives to make a positive difference.