The Tenth Mesa Hydration Campaign, running from June 6 to September 16, is now in full swing, and bottled water donations are needed. The annual Mesa Hydration Campaign seeks to collect bottled water in an effort to prevent heat-related fatalities among-st the less fortunate members of the Arizona community.
“Water is essential to life,” Mesa Mayor John Giles said. “For most of us, we take it for granted. But it’s important to remember that there are people in our community that aren’t that fortunate. This is life and death for people.”
Mesa officials are working with local businesses, organizations, and non-profits to collect enough bottles of drinking water to stock at various locations throughout Mesa so that transients can cool off in the intense summer heat. The 2015 campaign was a great success, collecting and distributing 816,578 bottles.
Once donated at one of the 19 drop off locations, the bottles are distributed to those in need through numerous agencies in the valley, including United Food Bank, A New Leaf, Paz de Cristo, and Saint Vincent de Paul. Water is vital to survival in Arizona, especially for those who don’t have access to air conditioning. Without A/C, the only means for the body’s cooling mechanism is sweat, and without adequate water, people can overheat.
Forrest Smith, Mesa Fire and Medical Department captain, said hydration is imperative during summer in the Valley and that the lack of resources to homeless could lead to a slew of serious repercussions for the body. “You start to see flushing of the skin, profuse sweating, then we start seeing it with levels of consciousness, and blood pressure starts to drop,” he said. “That’s where we start running into trouble with heat stroke and kidney failure, so the importance here is the fact that by not staying hydrated the actual physiological impact that that has on the human body can result in death.”
Bottled water can be dropped off at The Kenny Klaus Team offices and will be donated to the Mesa Hydration Campaign throughout the summer months until mid-September. The Klaus Team offices are located at 2919 S Ellsworth Rd #133, on the southeast corner of Ellsworth
