DETROIT – Tiana Lankford had lived in Flint her entire life up until last December. She moved out of the city to get her children away from the lead-poisoned water.
"I noticed that the water was brown all the time or that we were always getting rashes," Lankford said. "The water was messing our skin up big time."
Lankford's two girls -- Carlina, 1, and Amoni, 2 -- both were tested for lead, but only Carlina was found to have an elevated level.
"To think that something could be affecting their development, I really don't even have words to describe how I feel about it," Lankford said.
She considers herself fortunate that she could pick up and move to nearby Flint Township.
However, thousands of children in Flint have been exposed to lead in the water. Even a small amount of lead exposure can be hazardous, leading to developmental delays, behavioral problems and health issues. The problems can be lifelong and might not show up until a child is much older.
The Flint Child Health and Development Fund was created to help children affected by the water crisis. The fund will help with education, nutrition and medical intervention.
Tuesday, WDIV and four other television stations across Michigan -- WEYI-TV (Flint), WILX-TV (Lansing), WOOD-TV (Grand Rapids) and 9 &10 (Northern Michigan) -- are joining forces with Tom Gores, FlintNOW and Art Van Furniture for the Flint Water Crisis: 4 Our Families telethon.
"An estimated 6,000 to 12,000 Flint children have been exposed to lead in the water. We created this fund to ensure that these individuals, many of whom may face health problems for the remainder of their lives, have access to the proper resources. I thank WDIV for helping us bring our mission to the people of Michigan," said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Hurley Medical Center, founding donor of the Flint Child Health & Development Fund.
The fund was established in January to provide flexible funding for wraparound services not provided by state and federal government support. These services include optimal child health and development, early childhood education, educational and student support services, continuous access to a pediatric medical home, nutrition education and access to healthy food.
"The sooner you intervene in a child's life, the better the outcome, so this fund will be used to help ensure that they get into early childhood programs," said Kathi Horton, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
Horton said the Community Foundation of Greater Flint created the fund to follow the children over the next 20 years and provide resources to them as they move into adulthood.
"It's really important that these kids stay with a pediatrician whose screen (is) to really pay attention to the development and track that. It will ensure their resources related to health, the mental health of the parents and family, as well as the physical health challenges that the children may develop as a result of this."
"This is a community that is traumatized by this entire drinking water crisis. They are worried about what's going to happen with their kids. They are worried about their water," said Hanna-Attisha. "I just want to convey that not all are going to have all these problems. If we really can bring in these resources to children now, hopefully we wont see any of these problems."
Tom Gores and FlintNOW have pledged to match all donations generated by the telethon up to a total of $1 million. FlintNOW and the Detroit Pistons will help promote the event and continue raising awareness about the impact of the water crisis and the long-term needs of the residents in the city.
"It's an opportunity for me to give back and if there are going to be kids' struggling, I want to be there for them like Flint was there for me," Gores said.
Donations can be made by calling 844-FLINT KIDS or visiting any of the news station's websites, all of which will be accepting credit-card contributions through www.flintkids.org.