TORONTO, June 22, 2015 /CNW/ - Much like California which is now in its fourth consecutive record breaking drought forcing conservation measure to be imposed to save a parched landscape, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is entering its own decades old drought that continues to threaten the lives of its homeless community with death by dehydration.
For those in need, water is a life saving but scarce commodity that remains a challenge resource for relief agencies and outreach programs that provide aid to those living in shelters and on our city streets. Add to this the possible logistics restrictions to provide clean drinking water to the homeless or those at risk of being homeless during the PanAm Games, and the severity of a GTA water shortage surpasses critical.
In an insurmountable act of compassion, community-minded sponsors Nestlé Waters Canada; Canada Cartage; the Bargains Group; Home Depot; Toronto Police Service 13 Division; Alphabroder, and the over 100 volunteers of the 16th Annual Project Water - an Engage and Change initiative to provide bottled water to those in need, will arm 170+ social service agencies, outreach providers and homeless shelters with an excess of 300,000 Nestlé water bottles and 3,000 summer survival kits in an effort to provide life saving resources to the homeless in extreme summer weather conditions: Wednesday, June 24th, 2015, care of The Bargains Group, 890 Caledonia Road, 12pm.
More homeless people die from dehydration in the summer months
than freeze to death from exposure in the winter
"Water is the essence of all life and is an invaluable resource to those most vulnerable all year round," said Jody Steinhauer, founder of Project Water. "However, lack of clean drinking water among those less fortunate takes precedent in the warmer months when the risk of death ratio by dehydration increases significantly due to excessive heat and humidity. We are grateful to our community partners in leading the charge in this ongoing endeavor to help save the lives of those living on our streets and in shelters."
Project Water is an Engage and Change program committed to helping those less fortunate endure the hardships of summer by providing such necessities for the needy as: bottled water, a re-usable water bottle, sunscreen, hat, toiletry and first aid items, etc. Since its inception in 1999, Project Water has placed in excess of 2 million bottles of water into the hands of Toronto and surrounding area homeless. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.projectwater.ca or www.engageandchange.org.
| PHOTO-OP: |
12 pm – approximately 100 volunteers will load cases of bottled water and survival kits onto agency vehicles |
| TBD: |
outreach distribution of summer survival kits and bottled water |
SOURCE Project Water
Image with caption: "Project Water (CNW Group/Project Water)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150622_C4488_PHOTO_EN_18281.jpg
Media Contact: Francisca Gambino, francis G communications, 416-432-4599 or [email protected]
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