A student fills up his new water bottle.
Early this fall, Hometown's nurse, Mrs. Shelila Baker, applied for a grant through Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation and Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation. In 2020, these two companies partnered to launch "H20 On the Go." This shared initiative was developed in order to help improve the overall health and well-being of Illinois children. This program allows students in Illinois the opportunity to access a water filling station in their buildings. The program replaces existing water fountains with new water bottle-filling stations supplied by Elkay, a company based in Downers Grove.
According to the H20 on the Go foundation, this program promotes "easier access to drinking water for Illinois students while at school and helps encourage them to choose water instead of sugary beverages such as soda, juice, and sports drinks." These refillable water stations help reduce the waste of plastic water bottles in schools. Each student also received a toothbrush and reusable water bottles as a gift.
Since 2022, nearly 300 Illinois schools have received new water bottle filling stations. Thank you Mrs. Baker for helping us receive new and improved water fountain.