(Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Blue and white coolers are speckled across city bus stops in an effort to keep riders hydrated.

The initiative is in its third year, and is the brainchild of Nora Schreiber, the founder of The Worthy Ones, a Tyler nonprofit.

Ms. Schreiber said the idea struck when some coworkers had car troubles and walked to work in the Texas summer heat.

“By the time they got to work, they were a wreck,” she said. “The drink they brought from home for the journey was hot by the time we got (to work). It opened my eyes to the people walking and taking the bus. This is a big health issue that these people are being exposed to extreme heat.”

On Tuesday, 30 coolers were spread to the heaviest-utilized bus stops in the city.

The coolers were donated by the Northeast Texas Public Health District, and Ms. Schreiber has plenty of water to keep them full through September. Hope Springs Water donated nearly 4,000 bottles to the effort.

In years past, Ms. Schreiber personally refilled each cooler on Tuesdays, but the initiative is getting larger and she hopes local businesses or individual volunteers will sponsor a bus stop for the summer.

That would include refilling them with ice and the donated water once or twice a week.

Volunteers can also take on a route or refill them if they notice they are empty or full of water instead of ice.

Ms. Schreiber said she’s met some great people through the project.

“I’ve gotten to meet some of the people who are using bus transportation,” she said. “They are awesome. They are cooky and sweet, but it’s a taxing thing for them. I met a man in his 70s who missed the bus. He was sitting and waiting an hour-and-half for the bus to come. It was 102 degrees outside. That is what fueled me to start this.”

To volunteer, call Ms. Schreiber at 903-520-3436, or visit www.theworthyones.com.

Twitter: @TMTFaith

 

COOLER LOCATIONS

1. On Paluxy, near the Walmart Neighborhood Market entrance

2. At the Green Acres Shopping Center

3. On Beckham, near the Subway

4. Near PATH on Front Street

5. Near the intersection of Houston Street and Donnybrook Avenue**

6. On Beckham, across from Big Lots

7. Next to Olympic Plaza on Beckham

8. At UT Tyler, near main entrance

9. TJC, in front of Jenkins Hall

10. On the T.B. Butler Fountain Plaza

11. In front of the Goodman Musesum, near the Salvation Army.

12. In front of Azalea Orthopedics

13. Near Fresh by Brookshires

14. In front of Target on Broadway**

15. At the Meadowbrook Apartments**

16. Bergfeld Park

17. City Park

18. In front of the Hastings Shopping Center on Broadway

19. Near the intersection of Highway 64 West and Loop 323

20. At the Brookshires in Bergfeld Center

21. Near the intersection of 5th Street and Robertson Road

22. Near the American Inn, at 1800 W. Erwin St.

23. Near the Sonic at 5611 S Broadway Avenue

24. In front of the Broadway Square Mall, near Chipotle

25. In front of the former Macy’s on Broadway

26. Across from the Parking Garage downtown**

27. Near Clay’s Cuts, 2612 McDonald Road**

28. In front of the Cotton Belt Building

29. Across from the Center for Healthy Living on Vine Street

30. Near the William Booth Garden Apartments, 601 Golden Road

*Bus stops do not have exact addresses, so locations are approximate.

** Denotes bus stops that have been adopted to be taken care of for the summer