Arlington Water Utilities customers used the donation option on their monthly bills to contribute more than $40,000 in the past year to charitable causes, including $32,120 to Arlington Animal Services.
Arlington residents can give a one-time donation or a continuing donation to six different City-related programs when they pay their city services bill, which includes water, sewer, stormwater and garbage recycling fees. Last year, Arlington Water added an option to allow customers to “round up” their bill total as a donation to one of the programs listed on the bill.
In addition to the $32,120 for Arlington Animal Services, the following donations were received in the categories below from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022. A total of 23,088 donations were made during that time.
- $5,009 – Arlington Water Utilities Care and Share assistance program
- $2,759 – Arlington Public Library
- $1,411 – Urban Forestry (Arlington Parks and Recreation)
- $1,361 – Build-A-Dream Scholarship Fund (Arlington Parks and Recreation)
- $534 – Arlington Public Art Program
The Arlington Water Utilities Care and Share program helps local families who are struggling financially and need help paying their water bills. In addition to donations from residents, Care and Share funding comes from a recurring donation from the Service Line Warranties of America. Local nonprofits pre-qualify their clients for Care and Share assistance. During the COVID-19 program, the water department increased the number of nonprofits working on the program from one to three.
Arlington Urban Ministries was one of the new Care and Share partners. Jennifer Weber, executive director of Arlington Urban Ministries, said avoiding a water service interruption can be life-changing for many of their clients. Weber received an email from one of the families that has been helped by the program that said: “We would like to express our gratitude to the Water Department and the wonderful people at Arlington Urban Ministries that help families in need such as mine.”
Want to help? You can make a one-time or continuing donation to the Care and Share program or any of the other programs above when you pay your bill online at www.ArlingtonTX.gov/KnowYourH2O or by rounding up your online payment amount. Donations are also accepted by mail when you are paying your Arlington Water Utilities bill.
Arlington Water Utilities customers can apply for Care and Share assistance by contacting the following charities:
Support Youth and Families
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