By Amanda Raymond

amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

When Ebony Valentine heard about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, she knew she wanted to do something to help.

“I’ve been hearing about it for the last couple months,” Valentine, owner of Elove’s Braids & Beyond, said. “… And then I saw pictures. So the next morning I thought about calling Greg and asking if he wanted to help get water together and donate.”

After calling Gregory Vanzant, owner of Vanzant Hair Collections, Valentine decided to call Sadé Ingram and Laura Fuller to help start a water collection to help Flint residents.

“When (Valentine) spoke about it, it seemed to be something worth doing because everybody needs a source of clean water for various reasons,” Ingram said.

According to an article by CNN, in April of 2014, the state of Michigan was in charge of the city’s budget during a financial emergency. The state decided to switch Flint’s water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River as a cost-saving measure. The switch was temporary and was supposed to end once a new supply line to Lake Huron was ready.

The Flint River was known for being dirty. CNN stated that when the water source was switched, “residents complained their water looked, smelled and tasted funny.”

Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University found that the water from Flint River was highly corrosive. According to a class-action lawsuit, the state Department of Environmental Quality allegedly did not treat the water for corrosion, in accordance with federal law, so the lead that many of the service lines to Flint are made of seeped into the water.

According to the CNN article, the city went back to getting water from Lake Huron in October, but the lead pipes were already damaged.

Valentine, Ingram, Fuller and Vanzant have been asking local businesses and organizations to help with the collection.

They are accepting cases of bottled water, water filters and water testing kits.

Icutthat Barbershop, at 1121 Old Concord Road, and Bounce City, at 120 N. Church St., are two drop-off locations for the collection.

Ingram said her grandmother, who works at the local K&W Cafeteria, has received donations from customers and coworkers.

Along with companies and organizations in Salisbury, the group is also getting surrounding cities involved in the collection. Fuller said places in Winston Salem, Lexington and even South Carolina have started their own water collections.

“I’m just trying to make it bigger than us because the more water, the better,” Fuller, owner of a cleaning service called Neat and Clean, said.

Ingram said hearing and watching the stories from the residents of Flint were eye-opening.

“I’m willing to do almost anything to help because I would never want to be put in that situation,” she said.

The group also hopes to hold different events to collect water. One idea was to set up an open drop-off station were people could give what they could. The group would give out snacks, coffee and other goodies to the people who donated. They also hope to raffle off prizes during future collection events.

Fuller said after just a week of collecting water, her dining room is getting full of donations.

The plan is to deliver the water bottles to Flint directly. Fuller said a member of a church in Fayetteville has an 18-wheeler truck and has already been making deliveries to the area.

“Our goal is to fill up two 18-wheelers and send one to the eastern side and the other to the western side,” Fuller said.

They said they also eventually want to make a trip to Flint.

“We want to go down and actually pass it out,” Valentine said.

The group hopes to get schools and the Salisbury City Council involved in the collection.

Fuller said even though she has never helped organize a collection before, working with this one makes her want to continue helping the community.

“Now that we started doing this, it makes me want to do more,” she said.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.