Imagine if you didn't have safe drinking water in your home. It would make some of life's most basic routines much more difficult. That's why Local 4's Help Me Hank, Art Van Furniture, and the Catholic Charities of Shiawasee and Genesee Counties have been working together for months to bring safe water to the people of Flint.
This huge community effort launched on Jan. 12, and Art Van has delivered more than 2.4 million bottles of water to the people of Flint over the past few months. You can still help your friends and neighbors in Flint during this water crisis. There is still a need for safe drinking water as residents wait for test results showing if their water will be safe to drink once more.
All Art Van Furniture stores in metro Detroit, Flint and Lansing are still accepting donations of bottled water from the public.
Art Van Furniture delivery trucks transport the donations to Catholic Charities which distributes some of the water directly to people in need, and it also shares some of the donations with other social service agencies. Art Van has also expanded the donations to its stores across the Midwest.
Mary Stevenson of Catholic Charities says the has allowed people, who are too far to travel to Flint, to also lend a hand to those in need. She tells Help Me Hank the water drive has been a huge help to people who need safe drinking water.
"Having clean, safe water is fundamental for the health and well-being of every individual," said Art Van Elslander, founder and chairman of Art Van Furniture. "It is essential for all of us to do what we can to ease the extraordinary emotional and physical toll the water crisis has taken on the fine residents of Flint."
We've heard stories of many Metro-Detroiters loading their cars with bottled water and driving to Flint. The Help Me Hank water drive is designed to make it easier for you to make smaller donations at your local Art Van. Then, those donations can be rounded up and delivered to Flint by the Art Van drivers.
While the water crisis is concentrated within the borders of Flint, many of you have friends and family living in the city.
"We are absolutely all connected. We may be living in Metro-Detroit, but we all have some kind of connection there," said Diane Charles, Vice-President of Corporate Communications at Art Van Furniture.
At one point, Art Van was delivering several truckloads of water a week. While donations have dipped, the need has not. The community of Flint is still reeling from the revelations the water in their homes might contain too much lead. If you have an extra case of bottled water, bring it to an Art Van store near you, and give the people of Flint much-needed water and some peace of mind.
For additional information, visit Art Van or Catholic Charities.