Shelter receives large donation of bottled water for homeless

Members of the Greater Texarkana Young Professionals, Texarkana Sunrise Rotary Club, BWI Companies and Randy Sams' Outreach Shelter gather as the shelter receives a large donation of bottled water for its clients and local homeless population on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Texarkana, Texas. (Submitted photo)
Members of the Greater Texarkana Young Professionals, Texarkana Sunrise Rotary Club, BWI Companies and Randy Sams' Outreach Shelter gather as the shelter receives a large donation of bottled water for its clients and local homeless population on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Texarkana, Texas. (Submitted photo)

TEXARKANA, Texas -- Local nonprofit organizations in the area are stepping up to make sure the homeless have drinking water amid the summer's sweltering heat.

Randy Sams' Outreach Center, a 24-hour shelter that provides resources for Texarkana's homeless population, received a large donation of bottled water from the Greater Texarkana Young Professionals and the Texarkana Sunrise Rotary Club on Tuesday morning.

GTYP and Sunrise Rotary teamed up to purchase 7,680 bottles of water -- four pallets -- for those who need it most during the summer. BWI Companies helped transport the water.

Randy Sams Executive Director Jennifer Lacefield said the donation was much-needed.

"Every summer, Randy Sams is in particular need of water and Gatorade donations since the temperatures soar. But it seems like in recent weeks, we've had a lot of heat advisory days, so we've had more of an urgent need than usual the last few weeks," she said.

Lacefield said she posted on Randy Sams social media pages that the organization was in need of water and Gatorade on June 12, but no donations came from it. Shortly after, she crafted another post to bring more attention to the issue, and donations started to come in.

Randy Sams has received a total of 47 donations of water and/or Gatorade since then.

"I believe the donation from GTYP and Sunrise Rotary has been the largest one that we've had so far, but we have had a lot of water donated. We're very thankful for that," she said.

Lacefield said Randy Sams is a convenient spot for the homeless to find free water in the heat because they're open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They serve an average of 100 people per day, including clients and non-clients.

"It's helpful to make sure that not just the Randy Sams' clients stay hydrated, but any of the area homeless that stop by asking for something to drink. Any time someone stops by, we don't ask them to prove where they're coming from. We just hand out water to those who need it.

"It's important to prevent heat stroke and death," she said.

(To learn more or donate to Randy Sams' Outreach Shelter, visit randysams.org.)

photo A truck delivers water to Randy Sams' Outreach Shelter on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Texarkana, Texas. Greater Texarkana Young Professionals and Sunrise Rotary Club teamed up to purchase 7,680 bottles of water — four pallets — for those who need it most during the summer. The total cost for the water was over $1,800. BWI Companies helped transport the water. (Submitted photo)

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