BLUE Missions is an organization working to expand access to clean water and sanitation in underserved communities across Latin America, with the majority of its work concentrated in the Dominican Republic. Founded in 2010, the organization combines community-led infrastructure development, environmental stewardship, and service-based travel to address one of the world’s most pressing challenges: access to safe water.
Working alongside rural communities, BLUE designs and installs gravity-fed aqueduct systems that bring clean water directly into homes, reducing reliance on rivers, unprotected springs, and distant collection points. These projects are paired with sanitation infrastructure, hygiene education, and long-term community management systems that help ensure lasting impact.
What makes BLUE’s model unique is its integration of service-based travel. Through immersive experiences, students, corporate groups, and volunteers participate directly in the construction of water systems, creating a powerful connection between travel and tangible community impact. Since its founding, BLUE has partnered with more than 150 communities, connected 42,636 people to clean water, improved sanitation access for 13,694 people, and engaged 6,675 volunteers through service programs in the Dominican Republic.
The BLUE Missions Origin Story
BLUE Missions began with a service trip that changed the course of founder Daniel “Danny” Rodriguez’s life.
At sixteen years old, Danny traveled to the Dominican Republic to help construct a water project in a rural community. What began as an opportunity to earn school service hours quickly became something much more meaningful. Witnessing the daily realities faced by families without access to clean water left a lasting impression and sparked a desire to better understand the global water crisis and the role he could play in addressing it.
Danny returned to the Dominican Republic several times as a volunteer before co-founding BLUE Missions in 2010 alongside his sister, Nicole Rodriguez. Their vision was simple: help one community gain access to clean water each year while creating opportunities for other young people to experience the same transformative journey that had inspired them. What started with a small group of friends traveling to complete a single project would eventually grow into an organization operating across Latin America.
One of the defining moments in BLUE’s early history came during a project in the community of Carrasco. There, Danny met a young girl named Violeni, who explained that having clean water would allow her to attend school more consistently and pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer. That conversation reinforced a lesson that continues to guide the organization today: water is not just about infrastructure. It creates opportunities for education, health, dignity, and economic mobility. Years later, Violeni would go on to attend law school, becoming a powerful example of the ripple effects that access to clean water can create.
How BLUE Missions Is Making A Positive Impact
BLUE Missions creates impact by addressing water insecurity at its source while empowering communities to manage solutions for the long term.
The organization partners with communities to construct gravity-fed aqueduct systems that transport clean water from protected mountain sources directly into homes. These systems improve public health, reduce time spent collecting water, and create opportunities for education and economic participation. Each project is supported by locally managed Water Committees that receive training in operations, maintenance, and financial management, helping ensure that systems remain functional long after construction is complete.
Environmental stewardship is also embedded throughout BLUE’s work. The organization integrates watershed protection, reforestation, and environmental education into its projects to help safeguard the ecosystems that communities depend on for reliable water access. These efforts strengthen climate resilience while protecting critical natural resources for future generations.
At the same time, BLUE’s service-learning programs create a direct connection between travelers and communities. Students and volunteers work alongside local residents on water and sanitation projects, helping fund and construct infrastructure while gaining firsthand exposure to the challenges and opportunities facing the communities they serve.
Beyond its work in the Dominican Republic, BLUE advances its mission locally through REACH (Reflection, Education, and Action to Connect Humanity). Through sustainability learning, service activities, and opportunities for reflection, REACH helps youth understand the value of water and the urgent need to protect it. To date, BLUE has engaged 4,238 students through U.S.-based educational programs and supported more than 1.2 million community service hours.
Why the UnTours Foundation Invested in BLUE Missions
Through the Reset Tourism Fund, in partnership with Hyatt, this investment supports BLUE Missions as it expands access to clean water while strengthening the long-term resilience of communities connected to one of the Caribbean’s most important tourism destinations.
Hyatt’s partnership with the UnTours Foundation focuses on supporting organizations that create meaningful benefits for local communities while protecting the natural resources that destinations depend on. BLUE Missions reflects these priorities through its work to improve water security, strengthen community infrastructure, and promote environmental stewardship in rural communities throughout the Dominican Republic.
What makes BLUE especially compelling is its ability to connect people directly to impact. Through its service-learning programs, students, corporate groups, and volunteers participate in community-led water and sanitation projects, creating a direct link between travel and positive change. These experiences not only help fund critical infrastructure, but also foster a deeper understanding of the role that clean water plays in health, education, economic opportunity, and environmental sustainability.
The investment supports the future BLUE Center in Santiago de los Caballeros, which will serve as a hub for sustainability education, workforce development, and water stewardship in the region. More broadly, it supports an organization that recognizes that thriving destinations depend on thriving communities. By protecting water resources, empowering local leaders, and creating meaningful opportunities for engagement, BLUE Missions is helping build a future where tourism, environmental stewardship, and community well-being are deeply connected.
How You Can Support BLUE Missions
BLUE Missions is helping communities gain access to clean water while inspiring the next generation of leaders and changemakers. By participating in a service trip, making a donation, or partnering with the organization, you support projects that bring clean water and sanitation to communities that need it most. You can also help by sharing their mission and supporting travel experiences that create meaningful connections between people, communities, and lasting impact.
