Agency asks for donations to help folks keep cool

Thursday, July 02, 2009 9:36 PM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

By Kathy Chaffin

kchaffin@salisburypost.com

Rowan Helping Ministries is asking for donations of bottled water to help people in the overnight shelter stay cool during hot summer days.

Cam Campbell, volunteer program manager, said bottled water is particularly needed on weekends, when the homeless are not going to appointments or involved in any kind of programs that keep them inside. "They're pretty much on their own outside," she said.

Though the forecast does not call for extreme temperatures over the 4th of July weekend, there's still a lot of summer left.

Campbell said Rowan Helping Ministries staff put out coolers filled with bottles of water last weekend for people who stay in the shelter. "But everyone in the neighborhood was coming to get them," she said, "and all the shelter guests didn't get them."

One thing staff is thinking about doing, she said, is buying reusable water bottles so they can fill them up for people leaving the shelter at 7 in the mornings and again after lunch is served in the soup kitchen.

Campbell said Rowan Helping Ministries had plenty of bottled water last year after receiving a truckload of bottles from broken crates being shipped to grocery stores.

"It took an hour to unload," she said, "and we shared that with Nazareth Children's Home and the Salvation Army. We haven't gotten lucky yet this year."

If they get enough donations of bottled water, Campbell said Rowan Helping Ministries can also give it out to people receiving food from the food bank. "When we've gotten it in and given it out, they've been very excited about it," she said. "It's a luxury for them to have bottled water."

Anyone interested in donating bottles of water to Rowan Helping Ministries, located at 226 N. Long St., is asked to drop it off Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Those interested in making a contribution with a credit/debit card are asked to call Tina Coble at (704) 637-6838 and select option 4.

Checks may be mailed payable to: Rowan Helping Ministries, P.O. Box 4026, Salisbury, NC 28145-4026. Contributions are tax-deductible and eligible for matching corporate grants.

For more information on Rowan Helping Ministries and its programs, call 704-637-6838 or log onto its Web site at www.rowanhelpingministries.org.

Contact Kathy Chaffin at 704-797-7683.