Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s $500,000 gift helps train Indigenous water operators in Canada

In 2022, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated $500,000 to Water First, a Canadian charity that works with Indigenous communities on water education and training. Four years later, the organisation marked a milestone: eight Indigenous trainees had graduated from a 15-month programme as certified water operators. The graduates completed more than 2,000 hours of hands-on training and passed the exams required for certification, according to Water First. Their achievement points to the long-term purpose of the 2022 gift, which was intended to help more Indigenous young adults train for water-related careers. The donation did not solve Canada’s drinking-water challenges on its own, but it supported a locally focused approach: building skills so communities can strengthen their own capacity to manage water systems.A donation aimed at local trainingWhen Reynolds and Lively announced their donation in March 2022, they said it would support Water First’s education and training programmes for Indigenous youth and young adults. The funds were intended to help train water treatment plant operators and environmental water science technicians, as well as introduce school-aged students to water...