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Valley volunteers step up to help in dangerous heat

Posted at 7:28 PM, Jun 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-19 22:54:44-04

While most of us stayed inside our air conditioned homes or offices on Monday, dozens of Valley residents rushed out in the intense heat voluntarily, willing to work up a sweat to help others in need.

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It all started with one post on Facebook.

Angel Cuellar says he had planned to get out of town and head to San Diego to escape the triple digit temps, but saw the news coverage about the intense heat and decided to stay in town and do something to help those who had to be out in the elements.

He posted a call to action on Facebook, asking for cases of water and donations to get food for the homeless.

The effort blew up as people started sharing the post and responding.

Cuellar said he was speechless after seeing the response.

People dropped off pallets of water, and he was able to raise hundreds of dollars in donations. Cuellar decided to spend the money on food to hand out with the cold bottles of water.

Dozens of people gathered at Grant Park on Monday morning to help distribute the items.

From ice chests filled with bottled water, to cheeseburgers and fries from McDonalds, fruit, and sandwiches, several groups headed out across the downtown area, and to areas known to have homeless populations, to hand out the items.

Hector Soto came out with some members of the Phoenix Grizzlies football team, to show them what it meant to serve the community.

"Growing up I didn't have much, so this is my way to give back to my home, my family, we all live in the same city," said Soto.

Cuellar said they planned to continue the effort this week, and could use more donations. If you'd like to help you can reach out to Angel Cuellar at 602-486-2404.