Welcome to Positive Ripples

One act becomes
a thousand ripples.

A 501(c)(3) built by volunteers. We bring clean water, schools, food, and futures to communities the rest of the supply chain has skipped, in Haiti, the Bahamas, Pakistan, Moldova, Palestine, Syria, and Olean, NY.

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Impact, 2025 — 2026 Reported by the team in the field. Hover any tile.
Water · Haiti
275,000
People drinking from our wells, every day.
 A community water well in Haiti, painted ‘Thank You Positive Ripples.’
"Thank You" · Haiti
Access
381
Wheelchair ramps built.
Reforestation
20,000+
Trees planted in Haiti this year.
 Djemson with tree saplings, Haiti.
Djemson · Haiti
Food relief · Palestine
5,400
Meals delivered.
Food relief · Syria
2,000
Meals delivered.
Haiti Scholarships
25
Students supported on full scholarship.
 The BonaResponds and Positive Ripples team in Haiti.
The team · Haiti
RAM Clinic · Olean NY
$239K
Free medical care delivered.
Bahamas
1,600
Mangrove seedlings transplanted.
Reach
7
Countries our volunteers reached this year.
What we do

Three programs. One pond.

Born in Olean, NY at St. Bonaventure University, BonaResponds and Positive Ripples started by sending volunteers wherever the work was. Twenty years on, three programs do the heaviest lifting, and every dollar that comes in moves directly into one of them.

01 · Water

Wells, dug and repaired.

Nearly 250,000 people now drink from wells we dug or repaired. Repairing is a fraction of the cost of digging new, so we are fixing as many as the team can reach. Communities paint the thank-you on themselves.

Fund a well repair · $1,500
A family at a community water pump, Haiti.
02 · Solar & Construction

Light after dusk.

Most Haitian schools have no electricity. A $1,500 solar system changes that, instantly and permanently. We also build, rebuild, and ramp, with 26 new wheelchair ramps this year alone.

Light a school · $1,500
A construction site in Haiti where the crew is drilling and building.
03 · Gardens & Trees

Reforesting Haiti.

Led by community champion Djemson, our Little Gardens program teaches children to grow their own food. We also plant trees, more than 20,000 this year, restoring deforested land.

Plant a starter garden · $100
Community members planting trees together, Haiti.
Because of your generous donations, we are approaching 250,000 people using water from wells we dug or repaired. It is hard to even imagine. Wow, thank you.

Jim Mahar — Founder, Positive Ripples

Every dollar moves. None of it stays.

All-volunteer. No overhead skim, no executive pay. Choose the size of your ripple, or write your own amount on PayPal.

$25
A month of maintenance for one community well.
$100
A starter garden for a school, plus saplings for a family.
$500
One term of secondary-school for a Haitian student.
$1,500
A whole well repaired, or solar light for a school.
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501(c)(3) · EIN 47-4880953 · All gifts tax-deductible