MILAN - “We are very proud to be associated with Engage&Change, especially when it comes to such an important issue as dehydration among homeless people.” These were the first words of Debbie Moore, the president of Nestlé Waters Canada, regarding the close cooperation that has been built up with “Project Water”, the voluntary organisation that distributes bottles of water throughout the Greater Toronto Area, supporting homeless people who are at risk of dehydration during the summer months.
The project
A total of 311,489 bottles of water have been delivered for the initiative, which over the next few months will be distributed by Project Water to over 150 social service organisations that work with homeless people on a daily basis. These organisations include the Salvation Army, Canadian Red Cross, Street Health Bus and Scott Mission. Since 2006 the company has donated over 2 million bottles to the organisation, the total value of which is $378,109. Jody Steinhauer, founder of Engage and Change and Project Water, highlights this commitment: “The constant cooperation between Water Project, Engage&Change and Nestlé Waters Canada is aimed at solving this challenge in the long term. In the short term, saving human lives greatly motivates our organisation, our volunteers and the public health teams that provide support on a daily basis to the homeless people who live on the streets across the whole Greater Toronto Area. Unfortunately, dehydration continues to be one of the worst and most debilitating health problems faced by our community during the summer months, particularly amongst the homeless community.”
The value of water
After expressing her pride at this essential project, the president of Nestlé Waters Canada, Debbie Moore, highlighted the value of water: “Bottled water is the most convenient and healthiest solution to combat dehydration for all people when they are away from home. As Water Project has demonstrated in the past, and will continue to highlight once again this summer, the availability of bottled water will have a key role to play in the health and wellbeing of people who have no access to water because they are homeless.”
