Through JUST, the eco-friendly water company founded by father and son duo Will and Jaden Smith, the pair are lending a help hand to residents of Flint, Michigan, by donating water to Flint monthly until lead levels in the public schools’ water is below the federal threshold.
The Smiths were inspired by an MLive article posted last month, regarding the high lead levels in Flint schools. JUST has already donated 9,200 bottles of water to the city.
In a statement by Ira Laufer, JUST’s CEO, he called the generous donation a “no-brainer” and told MLive,
“This just makes sense for us to do. Jada Smith has visited Flint and met with the mayor. Flint is very dear to her heart … After reading more about [Flint’s] challenges and the mayor objecting to pulling bottled water from the schools, we thought ‘Let’s help these kids.'”
Flint has been without clean, safe water since 2014. The Flint Water crisis emerged when the Flint River, the city’s main source of water, was heavily polluted with dangerously high levels of lead.
Karen Weaver, mayor of Flint, hopes state-funded bottled water for residents will continue until all lead and lead-tainted pipes in the city have been replaced. The goal is projected to be completed by 2020. A review of the city’s water quality is expected to take place later this month.
