Wells Mountain Initiative

            Wells Mountain Initiative (WMI) was founded in 2005 with the goal of helping young people in the developing world by leveling the global playing field for education, opportunity, and justice. In the time since, around 500 people from over 45 countries have been given a chance to chase their dreams and attend tertiary education with the help of WMI.

            Peter’s brother Tom, along with his wife and daughter (Carol & Jordyn Wells – respectively) founded WMI when they learned just how different their lives were from those they interacted with during separate trips to Africa and Haiti. Jordyn had been studying abroad as a high school student where she met Victoria Galley in Ghana. Not long after, when Jordyn was in college, she returned to Ghana to find that Victoria had not been able to pursue her goals of making the world a better place and becoming a leader. Her family hadn’t been able to afford college tuition, and the girl that Jordyn knew to be incredibly selfless and driven was stuck with nothing more than a high school education.
            Tom was working in Africa and Haiti through YMCA World Service around the same time, and he’d met many ambitious young people like Victoria who needed help pursuing higher education. It didn’t take long for Tom to realize that if he worked with others to create something bigger than himself, a difference could actually be made in the lives of these people. With some help from Tom’s friend David Bolger, WMI was formed.

            WMI’s vision is that “young people are able to realize their full potential and become leaders in creating the changes they want to see in their communities and, ultimately, the world.” The first efforts in achieving this came in the form of scholarships, but also focused on community service where WMI scholars were encouraged to volunteer.

            The lives of these scholarship recipients have been changed drastically as many are the first in their family to attend tertiary education. Some even run their own businesses, have led community projects funded by WMI, or help to fund the next generation of scholars. The foundation is growing by adding more scholars every year and by hosting WMI Dream Big Conferences (DBC), which are triannual chances for WMI scholars to get together and learn from each other. The last DBC in 2018 saw 100 scholars from 19 countries gather in Uganda for 5 days to learn from each other, network, and create in-country fellowship groups, a newer effort of WMI.

            Peter and Phil Wells have both served on the scholarship committee, where they’ve read through hundreds of essay submissions to help WMI decide which students would be receiving the scholarship. Both have donated money and energy to the initiative to help them achieve their goals, and Phil still serves on the advisory board.