Demand for bottles of water is high at Mesa's respite and cooling centers and organizations ask the public to donate to the City's Hydration donation campaign. This annual effort makes a positive difference during the extreme summer heat as donated bottles of water are distributed directly to people who need it.
Resurrection Street Ministry (RSM), located at 1135 E. Main St., is one of the water donation drop-off locations. It sees up to 140 people a day as it operates a Day Respite Center through September six days a week. They are handing out 500 bottles of water a day to people in need.
"We are grateful to people who stop by to donate water and also to the supermarkets, like Costco, that donate broken cases of water to us and United Food Bank. It is definitely making a huge difference this summer," said Bill Berry, RSM Volunteer Executive Director.
Paz de Cristo, located at 424 W. Broadway Road, provides daily meals to people experiencing homelessness and other services for people in need. This summer, they are distributing more water to passersby than they usually do. A navigator offers an ice-cold water bottle to people on their campus before they open and sends away their dinner guests with as much water as they want to carry.
"The community has been great this year, as well as United Food Bank, with water donations. There is no shortage of water at Paz thanks to our partners and donors," said John Farley, Paz de Cristo Director of Food Services.
The Salvation Army Mesa Citadel Corps, located at 241 E. 6thSt., operates as a cooling center, offering water and air conditioning to vulnerable residents.
"We have given out more than 3,500 bottles of water since May 1 at our center in Mesa and we are very grateful for the community's support," said Major Michael Lutcher. "The Salvation Army considers extreme heat to be Arizona's natural disaster, so we deem it an emergency disaster response."
The City of Mesa, United Food Bank and Mesa Chamber of Commerce lead the annual Mesa Hydration Donation Campaign and work with partnering agencies to urge the public to help collect 700,000 bottles of water from now through Sept. 27. Residents can donate water at more than 20 locations throughout the City. The complete list of locationsis available atmesaaz.gov/H2OMesa. Cash donations are also accepted byUnited Food Bank.