BEATING THE HEAT

We often think that the homeless or marginalized members of our community have it harder in the winter with the cold weather.  But often, things are worse in the summer.  Statistics show that homeless people are more likely to die from dehydration related diseases in the summer, than exposure in the winter. 
 
This sobering fact shocked President June Mergl of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, Ontario.   The Club  teamed up with a support group in Toronto called Engage and Change through their initiative called “Project Water: The Water Line to the Homeless.”  President Mergl had seen information about their organization, and that they give out cases of water and summer survival kits to organizations with links to the homeless for distribution directly to them.  After an application was approved for 50 cases of water and as many survival kits as possible, a new Rotary hands-on community project was born.  Engage to Change was thrilled to get their first organization in Niagara Falls to connect and work with.
 
After picking up the cases and kits at Project Water day in May in Toronto, the club then connected with the local  “soup kitchen,” or Niagara Falls Community Outreach, and Outreach’s fundraising coordinator, Chris Watling.  This was an easy connection, as the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls has helped Outreach in the past with financial contributions, including a large donation for their capital campaign for a renovated facility.  July 19th, 2017, was chosen, and 8 volunteers from the club help transport the water and kits to Outreach.  Club members had lunch with the clients of Outreach, and a raffle was drawn to distribute the 25 survival kits.  Everyone was able to take bottles of water with them as well.
 
The kits contained many useful items such as sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, toothbrush, toothpaste, cooling packs, reusable water bottles,  t-shirts, snacks and more, all tucked nicely in a reusable duffle bag that doubles as a backpack.  The clients were thrilled to receive them, but President Mergl stated that she only wished they had more than just 25 packs, as Outreach averages over 100 people a day that drop in for lunches and dinners.  However, the club is already looking forward to assisting in a similar project in the winter, and are hoping to take two trucks up to Toronto to receive even more water and 50-100 survival kits – this time to protect against the effects of winter.