Jaden Smith’s Foundation To Provide Water For Flint Residents

Jaden Smith’s foundation, JUST goods, inc., is teaming up with a church to bring water to Flint residents, USA Today is reporting.

The town of Flint, Michigan, has been without drinkable water since 2014, when it was first discovered that their water supply was tainted with lead. Now, Jaden and his foundation are working with First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church to bring an innovative new water filtration system, called the “Water Box.” The device will reduce the presence of lead and other contaminants in Flint’s water.

The device itself was designed and engineered by Jaden’s foundation and the church. First Trinity Missionary has given out over 5 million water bottles since the crisis in Flint began, but the church hasn’t been receiving enough water bottle donations as of late. The Water Box will hopefully provide a more sustainable option for residents of Flint.

According to The Chicago Tribune, Jaden has been passionate about the environment, particularly water, since he was 10-years-old and saw a bunch of plastic water bottles bobbing in the ocean. He then learned about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in school. This patch contains large piles of trash, almost forming little “islands” of garbage. Jaden became so invested in the issue that he began to brainstorm alongside his parents, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. It was then that father and son teamed up to form JUST goods, inc.

The main product that foundation provides is eco-friendly water bottles, whose packaging is made almost entirely out of renewable resources. Since the charity has grown, Jaden has gone to speak at various schools about the environment and sustainability. The speaking commitments didn’t start until the organization had fully taken off, however. In fact, Will said they wanted to make it a point to have the charity become successful on its own before the public knew it was founded by celebrities.

“We did not want this to be a celebrity brand,” Will Smith said.

At the end of the day, 20-year-old Jaden isn’t just an actor or musician, who, according to Complex, released an 11-track project called The Sunset Tapes: A Cool Tape Story in November. He’s also a guy who cares deeply about access to clean water.

“This was a company born out of a child’s love for the ocean,” Will said of JUST goods, inc.

You can help Jaden Smith and First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church provide Water Boxes by going to the First Trinity Water website