About GRO.
GRO. (Girls Reaching Out) started with 6 sixth graders who realized that girls their age on the other side of the world had to carry water each day instead of receiving an education. Bridget Bullard, Asha Edgerle, Mary Madigan, Jordyn Schipper, Marcella Senti and Courtney Yang began as Girl Scouts but wanted to take their own form of action, resulting in GRO. As they learned about sustainability projects over the years, their focus turned to clean water and they wished to talk to businesses in order to share their mission. Passion grew, creating a project that benefits young learners across the globe with access to clean, healthy water.
The next generation of GRO. started with a hike to Woodlake and empty buckets. Their goal was to successfully carry the heavy buckets back and see what the water looked like when they got it home. All of the girls agreed that they would not drink from a lake that had floating dirt and possible diseases from local wildlife. This was when they realized that they needed to make a difference and continue the project.
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Fynley Bouck, Charlotte Bullard, Abbey Janssen, Sophia Kwacz, Melanie Pellegrino and Grace Villwock took GRO to a new level. They created specific roles based upon each individual's strengths. GRO 2026 became active on social media, created a new website, created personalized presentations and spread the word of the struggles young learners face in Malawi with churches, businesses and schools.
As of August 2025, Fynley, Charlotte, Abbey, Sophia, Melanie & Grace have raised over $130,000 toward 17 boreholes. Since its inception, GRO has collectively raised over $230,000 for life changing water! GRO invites you join the mission by learning more. Together, we can make a difference!
We believe young people can change the world when given the right tools to succeed.
Our Mission
We aim to provide clean water to communities across Malawi so that every child gets the education they deserve.
Why Water?
We support the clean water initiative because Malawian teenage girls still walk long distances daily to carry 40-pound buckets of water to support their families. Female learners receive less time in the classroom because of this cultural responsibility. Worst of all, many of the water sources are rivers or hand-dug wells shared by animals which carry waterborne diseases, making families susceptible to illness. Four million people in rural villages don’t have access to clean water. From this idea sprang GRO.