Mesa Hydration Donation Campaign Helping People in Need During Summer Heat

July 29, 2025 at 8:46 am

Demand for bottled water remains high at Mesa's respite and cooling centers. The City of Mesa urges the community to support its annual Hydration Donation Campaign, which provides life-saving water to individuals and families struggling during the extreme summer heat.

The campaign, a partnership between the City of Mesa, United Food Bank and the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, aims to collect 500,000 bottles of water by Sept. 30. Donated water is distributed directly to people in need through local nonprofits and service providers.

One of the partners, Resurrection Street Ministry (RSM), operates two water drop-off sites in Mesa. The Heat Relief Center (1109 E Main St, Suite 5) provides 500 bottles of water a day to visitors through September. The S.T.U.F.F. Thrift Store (1135 E Main St, Mesa) provides an additional 150 bottles a day, year-round.

"We are grateful to people who stop by to donate water and to the supermarkets, like Costco, that donate broken cases of water to us and the 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 and services for people experiencing homelessness. This summer, they are distributing more water to passersby than they usually do. Staff or volunteers offer an ice-cold water bottle to people on their campus before they open and send their dinner guests away 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. 6^th St., 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 treat it as an emergency disaster response."

The public can donate bottled water at more than 20 drop-off sites across the City of Mesa. The complete list of locations is available at mesaaz.gov/H2OMesa.Monetary donations are also accepted through United Food Bank, allowing for bulk water purchases and streamlined distribution.