Hillary Clinton’s campaign released a minute-long video on Monday to promote fundraising efforts for the people affected by the toxic water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
In the video, Flint residents speak out emotionally on the effects of the water crisis on their lives and families. Clinton and Flint mayor Karen Weaver called upon her supporters to donate to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint’s FlintKids.org campaign, which supports the health and education of children affected by the poisoned water.
"This is the most important work we are ever called to do: to reach out, in every way we can, to lend that helping hand for every single person in Flint," Clinton says in the video.
The water supply in Flint, Michigan has been poisoned with lead since April 2014, rendering it undrinkable and unsafe. Lead is a deadly neurotoxin that has affected nearly 27,000 children in the area.
One resident describes the pain of water rations on camera: "For all of us to bathe in bottled water... sometimes it breaks my spirit," she says.
Clinton sent her supporters an email on Sunday night with the subject line, "Will you help the families of Flint?" which included a button to donate directly to the Community Foundation. In the email, she wrote, "What happened in Flint is the cruelest kind of indifference, and an affront to what we stand for as a nation."
The Clinton family also plans to personally donate to the Community Foundation campaign, a Clinton aide told Detroit News.
Mayor Weaver endorsed Clinton for president last month. The campaign is also expected to announce the endorsements of three Flint pastors: the Rev. Hubert Miller, the Rev. Al Harris and Bishop Rogers L. Jones Sr., according to the Detroit News.
The video was released the same day as a scheduled rally by her opponent for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, at Eastern Michigan University. At that rally, he also commented on the Flint crisis, saying, "Flint, Michigan may be the worst example of a collapsing infrastructure, but it is not the only example," according to CBS.
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