For people who care about clean water, few years have given us more to be thankful for. A host of lawmakers and experts stepped up in 2017 to give Florida its best shot in a long, long time to make real progress toward getting our water right. We finally see a way forward to give future generations a chance to experience what makes this place special.

But the real difference came from volunteers, from Bullsugar supporters, residents and small business owners with personal stories to share. When clean water starts flowing south through the Everglades and into Florida Bay again, when discharges from Lake Okeechobee no longer regularly destroy the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie, when these great places begin rebuilding, we’ll have them to thank.

Bullsugar supporters volunteered for 20-hour days to testify at Tallahassee hearings this year. They raised their voices on social media and refused to let misinformation and smear campaigns change the subject. They spread the word and recruited hundreds of thousands of others to follow our issues. They supported our events, helped us raise money, wrote and called and texted our leaders. Bullsugar supporters changed the narrative, and maybe history.

So to all of our supporters, thank you. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ve never been closer to a real solution to our water crises. And we’d be nowhere without you.

If you can, please make a contribution to Bullsugar.org this holiday season as we look ahead to 2018. Whether it’s a one-time donation, a purchase from our official shop, or an entry in our Engel cooler sweepstakes, your support will continue to make a difference.