Heat-related deaths in Maricopa County have skyrocketed in the last decade. In 2014, 61 people died from heat-related causes. In 2024, 602 people died.
Government agencies and organizations across the Valley are trying to reverse the trend. There are many ways you can lend a hand to their efforts. Here are a few ways to help:
Volunteer at a heat relief site
Arizona Faith Network runs more than a dozen heat relief sites across the Valley. The organization’s cooling centers had 48,000 visits last year. Executive director Rev. Katie Sexton said volunteers are critical to that effort.
“There’s a ton of stuff to do as a volunteer,” Sexton said.
Sexton said volunteers might welcome visitors to the heat relief sites and screen them for signs of heat illness. Volunteers also conduct outreach in parks or other places where people might be exposed to heat to invite them to come cool off at a heat relief site.
And Sexton said the Arizona Faith Network also hosts bag-packing events, where volunteers fill bags with water, sunscreen, and other hygiene items to distribute to people in need.
“The more volunteers that we have, the more we’re able to spread out our paid staff and we’re able to open more sites in areas that may not have access to a cooling center or respite center that are really in need,” Sexton said.
Information about volunteering is listed at ArizonaFaithNetwork.org/heatrelief.
The Salvation Army Southwest Division is also seeking volunteers for its heat relief sites. Information on the Salvation Army’s heat relief efforts is listed at SalvationArmyPhoenix.org/extreme-heat-relief.
Donate bottled water
More than 18,000 people sought help on Phoenix’s central hub for homeless services, Key Campus last year. During Phoenix’s brutal summers, Key Campus organizations distribute 120,000 bottles of water per month.
The organizations on Key Campus are looking for donations of supplies as part of their annual Thirst Aid initiative, said CEO Amy Schwabenlender.
“We’ll have monthly opportunities for people to drive up with water bottle donations, lip balm, caps, cooling towels,” Schwabenlender said.
Key Campus hosts Thirst Aid water donation events on the first Saturday of the month April through September (this year’s July event will be held on the second Saturday of the month, due to the Fourth of July holiday).
Details on Thirst Aid events including a supply wish list are at KeysToChangeAZ.org/thirst-aid
The Salvation Army Southwest Division also collects donations of bottled water to distribute to Arizonans in need throughout the summer. Information on the Salvation Army’s heat relief efforts is listed at SalvationArmyPhoenix.org/extreme-heat-relief.
Inform hikers about heat safety
Rescue workers respond to dozens of calls for hikers experiencing heat-related illness on Phoenix trails each year.
This year, the city of Phoenix will station volunteers at several popular trailheads on Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak, and South Mountain Park and Preserve every Saturday from May 1 to Sept. 30, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., to provide heat safety education and distribute water to park visitors.
Volunteers can get involved through Phoenix’s Park Steward or Community Emergency Response Team programs.
To reduce heat-related rescue calls, the city of Phoenix will also close certain hiking trails on Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak, and South Mountain Park and Preserve from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. this year on days when the National Weather Service issues an Extreme Heat Warning.
Adhering to those closures helps keep everyone safe, officials say.
"If you do ignore those [closures] and you do get into trouble, you’re not only putting yourself in danger, you’re putting the firefighters in danger, too," Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller said after a mountain rescue last year.
Plant a shade tree
The Arizona Sustainability Alliance is on a mission to plant more shade trees across the Valley, especially in lower-income communities, which tend to have fewer trees. The organization has planted more than 2,300 trees in the last few years with the help of hundreds of volunteers.
“We work in parks, schools, residential, we kind of do it all. And we provide volunteers with information on how to properly plant a tree, we show them everything that they need to do,” said Lorena Saldana, the organization’s urban forestry senior programs manager.
Saldana said, to keep volunteers safe from heat, most tree planting events are scheduled October through April. More information on volunteering is at AZSustain.org/volunteer.
Other ways to help
The Maricopa Association of Governments’ Heat Relief Network kicks off May 1, 2025.
The network includes cooling centers, heat respite centers, and hydration stations where people can get bottled water across the Valley. The Heat Relief Network map also lists donation sites where you can drop off bottled water or supplies. Information is at AZMAG.gov/Programs/Heat-Relief-Network.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to correct that Key Campus organizations distribute 120,000 bottles of water per month during Phoenix's summer months.
