Volunteers travel hundreds of miles to help Flint families

Families get much-needed relief as volunteers from out of state arrive

FLINT, Mich. – Families got some much-needed relief Saturday when volunteers from out of state arrived in Flint, and they didn't come empty-handed.

Volunteers from Indiana and Illinois were in Flint handing out thousands of cases of bottled water.

SPECIAL COVERAGE: Flint Water Crisis

Volunteers from Chicago started collecting water bottles for Flint. In five days, they had more than 100,000 bottles of water.

A trucking company got wind of the campaign and transported the water for free. When the group reached Flint, those cases went flying.

One group from East Chicago, Indiana, didn't know the volunteers from Chicago, but they had 2,000 cases of water to donate.

Organizers said they picked a vacant lot in Flint because many people in the neighborhood can't get to the fire stations to pick up water.

Volunteers say they will be back in two weeks with even more water.

Visit HelpForFlint.com to donate money. To learn more about future drop dates, visit servicewriteracademy.com or search Kathy Cullick on Facebook.

On Saturday, Gov. Rick Snyder was seeking to expand aid to Flint children impacted by the water crisis.

Under the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, only children under 5 are covered. The governor wanted to expand coverage to children up to 10 years old.

The federal government denied his request Saturday to expand those benefits.


About the Author:

Priya joined WDIV-Local 4 in 2013 as a reporter and fill-in anchor. Education: B.A. in Communications/Post Grad in Advanced Journalism