Doc Hendley

“When the idea came to me to start Wine to Water the only real job experience I had was tending bar,” said keynote speaker Doc Hendley, “I dreamed of building an organization that fought water related death and disease using different methods than anyone else. So, I started raising money to fight this water epidemic that best way I knew how, by pouring wine and playing music.

In 2003, he dreamed up the concept of his organization while bartending and playing music in nightclubs around Raleigh, NC. In February 2004, the first fundraiser was held for what would one day be Wine To Water and by August of that same year Hendley was living in Darfur, Sudan installing water systems for victims of the government supported genocide. Putting his life in peril, along with those on his team who were committed to providing clean water for the world, two of which were killed during this period, Hendley returned home with an even stronger sense of the need of clean water around the globe.

When Doc returned home in August 2005, after spending a year in Darfur, the haunting memories of what he had seen in Darfur drove him to continue building the organization he started two years prior.  In 2007, after working two jobs and volunteering his time for 3 years, Wine To Water became an official 501 (c) (3) and Doc’s dream finally became a reality.  He now has projects in 9 different countries around the world and has saved thousands of lives by providing humanity’s most basic need and right, clean drinking water.

Keynote speaker Doc Hendley is the epitome of the individual who has made a difference. Tens of thousands of people around the world have clean drinking water they did not have before an idea popped into the head of this “tattooed keg-tapper” musician’s head. Hendley realized that just by using his ability to tend bar and create relationships with people, he might be able to help the problem. At the bars where he worked, he started raising money to fight this water epidemic the best way he knew how, by pouring wine and playing music.

Hendley has taken personal risks to do the hard work of providing water and clean water education in far flung locations around the globe. He worked in dozens of refugee camps installing water systems for victims of Darfur’s government supported genocide. Often inside the United Nations’ dangerous “no-go” zones, he distributed water or chlorine tablets to people with only plastic sheeting for shelter.

Hell or High Water: How One Man Turned Wine into Water and Transformed Customers into Crusaders

Doc gives a motivational and inspiring presentation that retells the story of his journey from bartender & musician to accidental humanitarian. When we consider a problem as far-reaching as the global water crisis,  we often question the impact that we as an individual can have.  Doc’s life work and incredible story answers the question of how much impact can one person have.

Digging for Hope: Turning Wine to Water & Other Modern Day Miracles

In this keynote, Doc discusses how to do what we can with what we have. Audiences will learn the immense power of relationships to transcend perceived barriers. Through this moving presentation, Doc Hendley proves the power of one to transform the impossible into the inevitable.