Heat Relief Kits Provide Lifesaving Help
Packed with sunscreen, hats and sunglasses, lip balm and lotion, cooling towels, electrolyte packets, and reusable water bottles, the kits are built by Valley of the Sun United Way volunteers.
Valley of the Sun volunteers in Phoenix are assembling more than 8,400 heat relief kits to help those living and working outside.
In Maricopa County, Ariz., staying cool during extreme heat is a community-wide effort involving thousands of volunteers.
Valley of the Sun United Way volunteers and corporate partners are assembling and distributing more than 8,400 heat relief kits to help those living and working outdoors in the scorching Sonoran Desert sun.
The effort is part of United We Prepare, a United Way Worldwide initiative supported by Verizon. The kits include sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, lip balm, lotion, cooling towels, electrolyte packets, and reusable water bottles.
"Why did I come to volunteer? Because the cumulative impact is going to make a big difference in the community," a Valley of the Sun United Way volunteer said while assembling kits during one event.
Valley of the Sun United Way is part of the Maricopa County Heat Relief Network, which offers free water and indoor cooling locations to help residents find a refuge from summer temperatures that can top 115 degrees or higher.
Some of the kits are handed out at cooling centers and some are given through supporting organizations such as Keys to Change, a Phoenix organization that provides resources to homeless adults to foster dignity and promote self-determination.
One kit reached a struggling man right when he needed it most one 107-degree summer afternoon.
As soon as he opened the kit, he wrapped the cooling towel around his neck, saying, “This is the first time I’ve felt relief all day."
With electrolytes to replenish what he’d lost, and a water bottle he could refill, he had practical tools to keep moving toward help instead of pushing through and potentially suffering dehydration and heat exhaustion.
As summers grow hotter, Valley of the Sun United Way’s volunteer events building heat-relief kits are an important way to help neighbors and the community beat the summer heat.
"Heat relief is really important in Arizona specifically", said Grace Bishara, corporate relations manager at Valley of the Sun United Way. "We are all so thankful for our volunteers that come and help pack the heat relief kits that go out to our network."
Providing Heat Relief
