ERIE, Pa. -- Emily Welsh is building big, benevolent dreams.

The 18-year-old Mercyhurst Preparatory School senior's service projects already have taken her to missions work in places ranging from the hills of Appalachia to the poverty-stricken streets of Baltimore. Now she has set her sights on a global need.

When her mom, Anne-Marie Welsh, returned from a New York convention buzzing about the UNICEF Tap project -- which raises money to provide clean drinking water to children around the world by funding pumps, pipelines, testing kits and training -- Emily Welsh sprang to action.

She contacted the organization to see if she could bring the project to Erie.

Then, with the help of her family, including her mom, and dad, Tim Welsh, and younger siblings, Alice and Bryan, she engaged local media, sending out 300 letters. She also made about 50 phone calls to local restaurants and asked for their participation.

Emily Welsh aimed to raise about $8,000, but soon hit a wall -- of chains, that is, when many of the restaurants she contacted were prevented from taking part by corporate red tape.

While only three restaurants in the region eventually jumped aboard, Ms. Welsh's call for humanitarian action is giving the people of Erie -- the smallest city to participate in the project so far among heavyweights like New York, Boston and Atlanta -- the power to affect change in the lives of others. Many, many others.

According to UNICEF's Web site, 40 percent of the world's population lacks basic sanitation facilities, and more than 1 billion people still have access only to unsafe drinking water.

To help alleviate that, the restaurants asked patrons to make a $1 donation for tap water they request with meals. The drive ran through World Water Day last month. Restaurant wait staffs informed patrons about the project.

Participating restaurants received Tap project member kits, which include promotional materials such as window decals to help get the word out.

Emily said she feels a buck is a small price to pay for the difference it will make in the lives of children elsewhere.

"We get something for free, every day, that people around the world don't have access to. ... We could give a dollar," she said. "If we have the money and the resources, we should definitely take advantage of them."

Emily's involvement in the project doesn't surprise Kathleen Pirello one bit.

"That would be Emily," her former teacher said, when she heard about the project.

Ms. Pirello describes Emily as "a beautiful presence to all of us," both physically and otherwise.

Her compassion is something Emily's best friend, 18-year-old Helena Fustine, said is obvious from the start.

"She's just really nice and down-to-earth," Helena said. "You don't even have to speak to her. People will look at her, and she will smile, and you will just know."

Emily's belief that service work is her calling has led her to pursue a career in the medical field, though she's not exactly sure where, right now. A big part of the draw for her, she said, is "the caring nature of the field and how selfless it is."

As for the Tap project, Emily's urge to contribute was just so strong that it couldn't wait until after high school. While graduation is just a few short steps away, as Emily said, "The need is now."