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How to donate water, volunteer to help Flint residents

A soldier from the Michigan Army National Guard Flint hands out bottled water at a fire station January 17, 2016 in Flint, Michigan.

Please refer to the below details for information on how a person can donate or volunteer.

Material donations:

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Material and in-kind donations of cases of water bottles, gallon jugs and larger containers of water can be dropped off at the below locations.

Donations of 100 cases or less:

Catholic Charities Center for Hope, 517 E. Fifth Ave, Flint
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

For deliveries outside these hours, call 810-232-9950, ext. 325.

Donations of 100 cases or more, (must be in pallet form and wrapped)

Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, 2300 Lapeer Rd., Flint
Donors must call ahead (810-239-4441) to schedule a dock time for delivery

Donations of multiple semi-truck loads can be made by calling Janet Hunter at 517-420-4162.

Please Note: At this time pick-ups are not available, all water must be delivered to Flint by the donor

Shelby Township water drive: The Shelby Twp Police Department and the Shelby Twp Fire Department, with the assistance of Utica VanDyke Services, are hosting a water drive to assist the citizens of Flint. You can drop off water at the police department or any of the 4 fire stations 24 hours a day starting immediately. On Friday, Jan.29, it will be loaded and delivered to Flint. 

Westland water drive: Bottled water can be brought to Westland City Hall, 36300 Warren Road, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Eastern Michigan University water drive:

The donation sites, all located in Ypsilanti, and their associated drop off hours, are:

  • The EMU Convocation Center (Loading Dock), located at 799 N. Hewitt Rd., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
  • The EMU Student Center (west entrance circle drive, drop off at information desk inside), located at 900 Oakwood St., 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday
  • The Ypsilanti Community Schools Administration Building, located at 1885 Packard Rd., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
  • Ypsilanti Community High School, 2095 Packard Rd., 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
  • Gene Butman Ford, 2105 Washtenaw Ave., 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
  • Ypsilanti City Fire Department, 525 W. Michigan Ave., 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The EMU Department of Athletics will be making the first delivery of the drive, taking hundreds of cases of water to Flint on Friday, Jan. 29. EMU Athletics and Corrigan Moving Systems will donate the use of the department’s 48-foot football equipment truck to make the delivery to the Brennan Senior Center in Flint, where the residents readily need and can use the water.

Financial donations

The United Way of Genesee County, Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Hurley Children’s Hospital and the Greater Flint Health Coalition have created a fund that will address both the short-term and long-term needs of Flint residents.

The Community Foundation is managing all financial donations and no administrative fee is assessed. Visit www.flintkids.org or call the United Way at 810-232-8121 or Community Foundation of Greater Flint at 810-767-8279 for more information.

Donations to Salvation Army: The Salvation Army of Genesee County is accepting donations via smartphone by texting “WATER” to 91999. Working in conjunction with other Flint-based service organizations, The Salvation Army is collecting funds to help purchase water, filters and pay delinquent water bills for residents who have received shutoff notifications. Donations will also be used to provide additional services related to the water crisis in the community as they arise.

Volunteers

Volunteers are still needed to participate in water response teams going door-to-door handing out bottled water, filters, water testing kits and replacement cartridges. Volunteers join teams of city, county and state personnel and members of the American Red Cross.

Volunteers should report to the Red Cross at 1401 S. Grand Traverse, Flint.  Hours of operation this week are:

Tuesday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.