There are those in the City of Newark who don’t have access to clean water in their homes, and there are those in Evesham Township who want to help.
Evesham Township and the Evesham MUA are joining with the Southern Burlington County NAACP to help collect cases of bottled water for residents of Newark whose homes do not have access to clean water for drinking and cooking.
As Newark and State officials work to address the issue of lead that has been leaching into tap water from buried lead service lines, the city has been distributing bottled water to affected residents.
With that in mind, the Evesham Township Municipal Building, located at 984 Tuckerton Road, and the Evesham MUA offices, located at 100 Sharp Road, will serve as drop-off locations for anyone who also wants to donate cases of bottled water to help the residents of Newark.
Donations at the municipal building can be left along the wall in the vestibule at any time, any day of the week. Donations at the Evesham MUA can be left Monday through Friday, during normal MUA business hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Volunteers with the Southern Burlington County NAACP will regularly collect the donations and ensure they are distributed to the residents of Newark who are in need.
“As the residents of Newark persevere through this ongoing crisis, we are proud to join with the Southern Burlington County NAACP to use our municipal building as a drop-off location for those willing to donate cases of bottled water,” Mayor Jaclyn Veasy said. “I also want to thank the Evesham MUA for offering their facility as a drop-off site, in addition to contributing their own donation of bottled water for the residents of Newark.”
Donations will be collected at each Evesham location throughout the month of September. Officials ask that supporters donate cases of water, rather than individual bottles, in order to expedite collection and transportation efforts. Cases of gallon-sized bottles of water would also be appropriate for donation.
“Time and again the residents of Evesham Township have shown great generosity in response to emergencies across the nation, so I know our residents will step up once more to help families in Newark as they wait for the same reliable access to safe water that we in Evesham Township are blessed to have every day,” Deputy Mayor Heather Cooper said.
Evesham MUA Executive Director Jeffrey Rollins also added the following.
“When Deputy Mayor Cooper approached me about this effort, I thought it was something well worth supporting,” Rollins said. “I’m sure that our public water system colleagues in Newark are doing all they can to rectify a very difficult situation. This effort will help ease some of the burden Newark residents face on a daily basis as they move towards a permanent solution to safeguard public health.”
Those who would like to make a monetary donation can also do so through the NAACP New Jersey State Conference website at www.njscnaacp.org.
