re:Invent attendees are helping provide clean water to an elementary school in Cambodia, while also doing away with tens of thousands of plastic bottles.
re:Invent 2023: Fill it forward with AWS and LaunchDarkly’s reusable water bottle and QR Code
Next to the stream of people flooding through the main hall at re:Invent 2023 in Las Vegas is another line of people, each one waiting to carry a pair of yellow water jugs through a short, winding course. The jugs weigh 40 pounds each. After just a quick walk with their liquid load, the lesson is very clear—lugging water for any distance is backbreaking work.
“We want attendees to experience how hard it is for many people around the world who have to do this every day to get clean water,” said Matt Wittek, founder and CEO of Fill it Forward, an organization that creates interactive technologies, global giving initiatives, and reusable products to inspire people to reuse. “Hopefully, they also come away with an understanding of how fortunate we all are to have access to clean water.”
When their walk is complete, each participant receives a reminder to use the purple and orange refillable aluminum water bottle everyone attending re:Invent received when they picked up their badges. That is part two of the lesson, helping folks make more sustainable choices. Emblazoned on the water bottle is a QR Code that takes the whole experience into the realm of direct action.
Each time a re:Invent attendee refills their bottle and scans the code, AWS and cosponsor LaunchDarkly donate $5 to Fill it Forward. The money raised during the course of re:Invent will be used to build a clean water facility at an elementary school in Cambodia, as well as upgrade the school’s sanitation infrastructure.
The fundraising won’t stop after re:Invent. Every time people refill their bottles, they can scan the QR Code and help raise money for other clean water projects.
For more on how you can get involved in bringing clean water to people around the world, head to Fill it Forward.