Water Drops

General Processes

General Procedures for Water Drops

Water Drop sign-ups are open for multiple dates. Water Drops begin at 11am and end at 2pm PST. Volunteers may specify a preference for what role and route they would like to be on, but these preferences are not always guaranteed.

  1. Signing up and choosing a date

2. Choosing a role

Volunteers fulfill two main roles during the Drops: Route and Truck.

Route: Upon signing-up, if specify that you have a car, you will most likely be assigned to be a driver for the day. Upon arrival, volunteers are assigned a route to distribute water in Skid Row from their cars. If you don’t have a car, you may either be assigned as a passenger in a car or as a volunteer at the truck.

Warehouse: In addition to the routes, we set up our base of operations with water and other donations at 718 Gladys Ave. to reach other community members. At the warehouse, we set up tables for water, snacks, and clothing donations. Volunteers on a route also come to the warehouse to re-fill their cars. If you are not assigned to a route, physically able, or do not want to carry cases of water, you will be assigned to the warehouse for the day.

3. Drop day logistics

On the day of the Drop, we meet at the Water Drop warehouse located at 718 Gladys Ave. at 11am PST. The address to the warehouse is sent to volunteers via email and GroupMe chat prior to the Sunday drop. Volunteers check in with the WDLA team, learn their assigned role, and get introduced to their partner(s) if placed on a route. We also encourage volunteers to take a free COVID test if they have not done so within the last two weeks.

After checking-in, volunteers help the WDLA team to load cars with water and other donations. Additionally, volunteers may help with sorting through clothes, prepping zines, portioning animal food, and more.

Around 11:30am PST, cars should be loaded with water and other supplies. Everyone is then gathered together and a WDLA team member a briefs the volunteers regarding procedures, safety, and expectations for the day. Narcan training is also provided after the brief.

Once the briefs are finished, volunteers assigned to a route drive directly from the lot to their designated routes in Skid Row and begin to distribute water. Meanwhile, volunteers assigned to warehouse will be briefed on roles, and will immediately proceed to facilitate the drop.

4. Finishing the Drop

All volunteers, whether assigned to a route or warehouse, will check out with the designated WDLA team member who oversees volunteer check out for the day. Volunteers who finish early may be asked to stay and provide support for other routes, if they are able to.

If you would like to get more involved, you can join our Slack channel that is sent via GroupMe after every drop. Volunteers are also welcome to attend our weekly Zoom meetings on Mondays at 7 pm PST! For more information, please email volunteer@waterdropla.org.