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How this NFL player went from underdog to champion for kids struggling with literacy.

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Growing up in Flint, Michigan, Brandon Carr of the Baltimore Ravens had a deep connection with the teachers in his life.

His fourth and fifth grade teacher, Denise Pitman, made a major impression on him.

"She really turned my education around," Brandon says. "I was so excited to go to school. She was like my mom — she pushed me."

Brandon always had a soft spot for teachers because his mom, Kathy, was one for 33 years, and he saw firsthand just how hard they worked.

Kathy's two sisters were also teachers, and they all wound up in Flint together, so it's no surprise that education was a regular topic of conversation in the Carr household.

His mom did everything she could to help her boys grow up well-rounded, and that meant prioritizing education, even when football came into play.

Simultaneously Brandon's dad always stressed the foundations one needs to be a great athlete, and that included stepping outside your comfort zone.

So Brandon started playing football. "I followed in my brother’s footsteps," he says. "He was the first African-American quarterback in my high school."

As a smaller guy, Brandon was a bit of an underdog, but it ended up working to his advantage. He played college football for Grand Valley State and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. In 2012, at 25 years old, he was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys on a five-year $50 million contract.

[rebelmouse-image 19532571 dam="1" original_size="600x646" caption="Brandon Carr. Photo by Keith Allison/Wikipedia." expand=1]Brandon Carr. Photo by Keith Allison/Wikipedia.

Needless to say, his athletic career was soaring, but Brandon started to feel a tug to do more.

He was itching to give back in a big way but didn't know how he could be the most useful. Then he remembered his dad's advice: Go outside your comfort zone.

With that in mind, Brandon signed up to speak publicly about juvenile diabetes.

As a shy guy, he was more than a little nervous at his first speaking engagement. But when he saw all these kids in the auditorium, his nerves melted away. He immediately owned the space, joking and laughing with them. He felt like he could totally be himself.

Carr with kids from Glenmount Elementary School. Photo via Carr Cares, used with permission.

That's when he realized he wanted to continue to help instill confidence in kids. And how does one do that?

Well, thanks to voices in his head like his mom and his old teacher Ms. Pitman, it became clear — teach them to read.

"You need to be able to comprehend everything around you to get ahead in this world," Brandon says. "That starts with reading."

So, in 2012, Brandon started the Carr Cares Foundation — a nonprofit dedicated to improving children's literacy.

Carr with a student from Roots and Branches Elementary School. Photo via Carr Cares, used with permission.

The idea for the foundation was rather broad at first, but after talking to his mom, aunts, and former teachers, he began to hone in on what schools and students really need. Now they offer programs specifically designed to identify students who are struggling with literacy and give them the tools to succeed.

For example, there's a peer-to-peer reading program that pairs younger, struggling readers with high school mentors who provide one-on-one tutoring twice a week.

"A big piece of it is the young students build a sense of trust with their mentor and let them into their lives which can be extremely helpful when a student is having problems outside of the classroom," Brandon explains.

The mentors get a great deal in return as well. Having to be there for younger students every week teaches them accountability. Some even choose to go into education, and in turn, Carr Cares offers them scholarships.

Beyond helping improve kids' confidence levels, Brandon is doing everything he can to preserve his mom's legacy.

Carr reading to kids at Roots and Branches Elementary School. Photo via Carr Cares.

Kathy passed away in 2014 from her second bout of breast cancer. While he misses her every day, his work in schools lets him feel close to her.

"When I go into these schools, I know she’s with me, and she’s getting the same joy out of seeing these kids," Brandon says.

And to bring it full circle, he opened three reading centers back in his hometown of Flint in 2015, which provides kids with over 500 books, a fun place to read, and tutors whenever they might need them.

What's even cooler is that some of Brandon's former teachers have come back to help run the program.

Thanks to his teachers and loved ones, Brandon's the confident man he is today, which is why he always comes back to his community.

Carr reading to kids. Photo via Carr Cares, used with permission.

Thats why he'll be wearing cleats that broadcast the Carr Cares message for NFL's initiative My Cause, My Cleats during week 13 of the season.

"We all want to go out and do great things in this world, but [we can't] forget about the ones coming up behind [us]," Brandon says.

One day, he hopes to take his volunteers and literacy programs and build a school dedicated to bolstering reading skills. It may seem like a massive undertaking, but for the small football player who made it to the top of the NFL by age 25, the sky's the limit.

Brandon Carr is one of more than 750 NFL players who will lace up for charitable causes as part of the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats initiative. Starting November 28th, NFL players will reveal their custom cleats, several of which will be auctioned to raise money for the charitable organizations they support. For more information, visit www.nfl.com/mycausemycleats.

Heroes

EPA official resigns, explains why cutting his department will cost us all in the future.

The head of the EPA’s environmental justice program has handed in his resignation letter.

Mustafa Ali at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., in 2016. Photo from the Wilson Center/Environmental Change and Security Program.

Mustafa Ali — who helped found the office in 1992 under George H. W. Bush — resigned as the head of the environmental justice program in a letter dated March 7, 2017.

The justice program was created to ensure all people had equal access to a clean and healthy environment, regardless of race, national origin, or income. However, a recent budget proposal from the Trump administration would cut the EPA’s funding by a quarter overall and get rid of the justice program altogether.

“I never saw in the past a concerted effort to roll back the positive steps that many, many people have worked on … I can’t be a part of anything that would hurt those [disadvantaged] communities. I just couldn’t sign off on those types of things,” the Washington Post quoted Ali as saying.

But before he left, Ali penned a letter to the EPA’s new administrator, Scott Pruitt, imploring Pruitt to think before slashing funds. The full text of Ali's letter was tweeted by Emily Atkin, a staff writer at The New Republic.

Here are four key points from Ali in that letter:

1. “Communities of color, low-income communities and indigenous populations are still struggling to receive equal protections before the law.”

Those communities are more likely to be affected by air pollution, crumbling water or sewage infrastructure, hazardous waste, and lead in the water.

That last one rings especially true, given that Flint, Michigan, still doesn't have clean water (and now they must now pay for that water again, even though it’s still unsafe to drink without a filter).

Flint water protester in 2016. Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images.

2. “I wonder if our new leadership has had the opportunity to converse with those who need our help most.”

Communities speak for themselves, Ali says and notes that some of the best results have come from working collaboratively with local communities through grants and programs. Administrators just have to listen. But cutting out the small grant and collaborative problem-solving programs that formed the backbone of this relationship could silence these people’s voices.

“I strongly encourage you and your team to continue promoting agency efforts to validate these communities’ concerns, and value their lives,” Ali wrote.

3. “Any cuts to this program will increase the public health impacts and decrease the economic opportunities.”

Flint residents holding up contaminated water during a news conference. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

“One of the points that you shared with staff in your recent town hall was that you were looking for opportunities to balance the environment and the economy,” wrote Ali. “There are countless examples of how the local communities vision for revitalization have grown into productive collaborative partnerships.”

He also pointed out that the program makes good economic sense. In 2016, Brownfields revitalization (cleaning up formerly contaminated sites) leveraged more than $16 for every dollar the EPA spent and created eight-and-a-half new jobs for every hundred million spent.

4. “The upcoming choices you make will have significant impacts on the public health and environment of our country.”

He ended his letter with a reminder: “Administrator Pruitt, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring people together, to ensure that all communities have safe places to live, learn, work, play and pray,” he wrote. “I wish you well as you move forward on protecting the public health and environment of our nation, as you help make the American Dream a reality for all.”

And he's right. Environmental protections affect everyone who lives in our country, but the proposed budget cuts could defang anti-pollution measures, blindfold our watchdogs, and stifle clean-up measures. Restoration along the Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, the San Francisco Bay, and Puget Sound could be slashed or completely eliminated.

Without strong protections, it's hard to see how Pruitt could live up to the legacy Ali is leaving behind.

Ali is moving to a job as senior vice president at the Hip Hop Caucus, a nonprofit that gets younger Americans involved in grass roots activism.

It's Christmastime in Flint, Michigan, and all that Mari "Little Miss Flint" Copeny wants is a Hatchimal. Oh, and to finally have clean water again.

You remember her, right? The adorable 9-year-old beauty queen who wrote a letter to President Obama about her hometown's ongoing water crisis and later got caught in an unfortunate campaign trail photo with Donald Trump?

Photo by The White House/Flickr.

Mari hasn't had a bath at home under an actual running faucet since April 2014. And it's not looking like that's going to change anytime soon, either.

Seven people live in Mari's house in Flint. They twist open dozens of small water bottles every day just so they can all shower and eat.

According to Mari's mother, Loui Brezzell, the family goes through about four cases of 16-ounce water bottles every day, not counting their drinking water, which they get from a five-gallon dispenser in the kitchen. "Most people use that every day," she says, "but they don’t have to measure it. They’re just turning on their tap."

And when the family needs more? Brezzell has to drive down to one of the city's water pods, expending her own time and gasoline to collect it herself, since the state won't expend the resources to deliver water to every home. At least they put the cases into her car for her — although she still has to unload it herself at home and has to deal with all that plastic waste.

Mari is not amused. Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

Mari and her family still have to manually twist open and pour out each bottle, one at a time, to use it. Boiling water for pasta? Open six or seven bottles. Cleaning produce so your kids will actually their veggies? Open more bottles. Brushing your teeth? Open another bottle. Washing your hands after using the bathroom? Open a bottle. Bath time? Lots of bottles.

"It’s a lot of water. It’s a lot of time. But if that’s what it takes to ensure my kids are safe and healthy, then we’ll take the extra steps," Brezzell says.

The family used 144 bottles of water just to prep their Thanksgiving dinner this year — and Christmas isn't looking much different.

Brezzell can't even be certain of how many people she needs to prep for. "You never know how many will come through over the holidays," she says. "It’s a pretty open-door policy. Our house tends to be the spot where kids in the neighborhood and friends and family that comes through." But she believes in being a part of the community like that — especially since no one else is taking care of their city.

Mari and her siblings. Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

This year's holiday menu will likely include a Christmas ham (more bottles for thawing) and some prime rib, plus fresh veggies ("My kids eat like rabbits. They could probably clear 10 pounds of raw vegetables in one day") and mashed potatoes (bottles for cleaning and bottles for boiling).

"In the beginning [of the water crisis], using the bottles was a pain in the butt," Brezzell says. "It’s still a pain, but we’ve been putting up with this for so long that it’s second nature."

Water pickup in the spring. Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

Even joyful traditions like holiday cookies have turned into painful chores.

Every year before Christmas, family and friends gather at the Brezzell-Copeny house for a big ol' baking party. They make everything from oatmeal raisin to snickerdoodles to sugar cookies and snowballs and beyond.

But even that process involves bottled water to clean the mixing bowls and baking sheets, or to add into the powders and doughs to make the cookies moist. "That’s where you have the kids come in. Like, 'Hey, you wanna play a game? Come open bottles of water!'" Brezzell says with a laugh.

Inevitably, the kids' hands start to hurt from all that repetitive twisting, and it falls back to the adults to keep up the holiday spirits in the kitchen.

Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

Yet, despite their own troubles, Mari and Loui also spend the holiday season giving back to Flint residents who are even less fortunate than they are.

"People don’t realize that there are kids here that are still in need," Brezzell says, referring to the more than 40% of Flint residents who live in poverty. "If anything, they’re so focused on donating bottled water that they don’t realize that there are kids here who would just love to have a Christmas but they can’t afford dolls."

As much as Mari wants an elusive Hatchimal for herself (mom's working on it), she also serves as the youth ambassador for Pretty Brown Girl's Doll Drive, raising money for toys and empowerment programs for underprivileged girls.

Mari posing with her Pretty Brown Girl doll (and some of her beauty pageant awards). Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

Meanwhile, Brezzell has been speaking up on behalf of the hundreds of Flint residents who are facing eviction. "Christmas is coming, it’s freezing cold, and you want to put people on the streets because their landlord isn't paying the water bill?" Brezzell says. "Kind of hard when you can’t use the water, right?"

The media cycle may have moved on, but Flint's water crisis is far from over.

"I just want people to see what we deal with, how life is, and try to keep attention on the people here," Brezzell says. "We literally have a third-world problem in America that’s not being addressed."

Yup. Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

But here's perhaps the most frustrating thing about this water crisis. It started because the state was hoping to save $200 million over 25 years. But they could have avoided the problem entirely if they'd just spent $100 a day to add anti-corrosive agents to the water.

In other words, Flint is what happens when you run a city like a business — based on money — instead of treating people like humans.

You may have seen her photo ops with Obama and Trump. Here's her story.

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When 7-year-old Mari Copeny was crowned Miss Flint in the spring of 2015, she and her mom already knew something was wrong with the water in their Michigan home.

The water — which they would later learn was contaminated with lead from corroding pipes — was giving the family rashes. “We knew something was up, but [at that point] we had no idea it would become such a widespread crisis,” explains Mari’s mother LuLu.

Mari Copeny. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

Months later, officials confirmed the suspicions of residents in Flint, Michigan. The water had been switched to a new supply source in April 2014, and was corroding the city’s pipes. The result? Severe, widespread lead contamination — an incredibly dangerous issue, especially for children.

After news of the unsafe water broke, Mari was ready to do everything she could for her community.

Mari (who’s now 9) has been doing community service since she was 3, often focusing on helping bring positive light to local law enforcement. But when she learned that the water in her town was dangerously contaminated, “She became concerned about the kids, especially her brother and sister,” says her mom. “She asked to go out and protest and help to pass out water.”

Mari with a friend at a water donation drive in Ohio. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

Since then, Mari — now known as “Little Miss Flint” — has helped with bottle drives, marched in parades, talked on the news, and become a voice for change.

She may be best known for a letter she wrote to President Obama in spring 2016, which helped spur his decision to visit Flint in person. “Even just a meeting from you or your wife would really lift people’s spirits,” Mari wrote.

President Obama responded to Mari’s letter with a promise to visit the following week and added, “Like you, I’ll use my voice to call for change and help lift up your community.”

Mari meeting President Obama in May 2016. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

Mari poses in front a mural in Flint of herself and President Obama. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

The water in Flint is still not safe.

In the past few months, Flint has begun to fade from the public eye. The water in Flint has now been contaminated for two and a half years. Federal aid funding to fix the issue has been approved by the United States Senate, but the progress toward clean water is slow going. Because the lead contamination in the water was coming from the pipes themselves, all the affected pipes in the city need to be changed before the water can be declared safe.

In Mari’s house, the family is still using bottled water to cook, drink, and brush their teeth.

“Sometimes kids can be the ones that end up making a change,” Mari insists. “Just because we are kids doesn't mean that we can't change the world.”

In many ways, Mari is just a normal 9-year-old kid: She likes to draw cartoons, read, and ride her bike. But until the water in Flint is 100% safe, she intends to continue fighting for justice in Flint. She explains, “My favorite thing about being Little Miss Flint is being able to be a voice for the kids here in Flint and getting to meet and make new friends.”

What’s the one thing Mari wants to tell the whole country? “That the Flint water crisis is far from over, so please don't forget about Flint. And to the kids, remember that one kid can change the world!”

[rebelmouse-image 19475694 dam="1" original_size="2000x2000" caption="Mari poses in her "future president" shirt. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission." expand=1]Mari poses in her "future president" shirt. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

The Flint water crisis still isn't over. In fact, it may have gotten worse.

9-year-old Mari Copeny has been in more than 60 beauty pageants — and she's even won a few. But you might know her better for the letter she wrote to President Obama.

The letter turned national attention onto "Little Miss Flint" and helped convince the president to visit her hometown of Flint, Michigan, to see firsthand just how bad the city's ongoing water crisis really was.But by the time the president came to visit, it had been two years since Flint had clean water, causing health problems for children like Copeny.

It kept happening for years: Every time the decision-making power was moved into the hands of some other department or authority, that authority managed to bungle things up even more. Yeah. It was bad. But hey, Obama!

When Flint's emergency status was lifted in August 2016, the city seemed to disappear from the news.

The city received millions of dollars from Congress to invest in new pipes that weren't corroded, and local authorities were finally given the power to determine their own destiny.

From the outside, things were certainly looking up, and there was nothing newsworthy left to cover — at least, until a certain Republican front-runner paid a visit and was caught in an awkward photo op with Little Miss Flint.

The photo quickly went viral, for obvious reasons. But it turned out that the moment wasn't quite what it seemed.

Little Miss Flint wasn't scared of Donald Trump. Instead, according to her mother, who helps run her daughter's social media accounts, the whole situation was blown way out of proportion.

"We had to get through the crowd twice to get his attention since [Trump] walked out the opposite way he came in (which had her a bit overwhelmed)," she wrote on Facebook. "Then, with people yelling at him, and add the secret service to the mix, well think how you would feel? Their whole interaction was ten seconds tops."

Little Miss Flint was actually there to ask Trump one question: "What are you going to do for the kids here in Flint?"

Yep, the 9-year-old spokesperson was much more concerned about the possibility of taking a bath from an actual running tap than political semantics. Imagine that.

Copeny has expressed her distaste for Trump in the past, out of fear that his proposed wall would send some of her friends away. But her mother, a registered Independent, said that she's willing to vote for whoever can make Flint's water start running again.

As of Sept. 26, 2016, the water in Flint is still not safe.

There's also no money to spend on fixing these problems either. The aid package that the city already received from Congress is wrapped up with all kinds of caveats and requirements, and they're still waiting for more federal funding to pass. And assuming that it does pass, they'll still have to wait for all the paperwork to go through, which could take years.

**The city of Flint decided to sue the Michigan state government to get the funding they need to fix their water system — and even that's more complicated than it should be.**

The city filed their notice of intent to sue back in March — because certain legal processes require you to file your intentions within a set period of time before you can actually move forward with the suit. Don't ask me why; that's just how it is.

That's not the only frustrating legal issue standing between the city and some clean new pipes though. The advisory board in charge of transitioning the city back into its own control abruptly changed the rules on the city, so that now in order to actually sue the Michigan state government, the city also needs to obtain permission ... from the Michigan state government, through an advisory board appointed by the governor.

A representative for the state government insisted that this change was made to ensure that all involved parties had a voice in the litigation conversation. And maybe that's even true — after all, the city has been passed through a bajillion different hands over the last few years, and they all played their own unique role in the water process.

But while that's all being settled, Flint is going on two and a half years without clean tap water. Who knows how much longer the bureaucracy will take — and what kind of funding will be left when it's all resolved?

So, yes. It's funny to see a cute child terrified of Trump.

But that photo also distracts us from the fact that a majority-black city is still being poisoned through a combination of negligence, greed, and chemical water.

Simply put, the ongoing Flint water crisis can be seen as the epitome of systemic environmental racism (and, to some degrees, classism).

On some level, maybe that's what Little Miss Flint's frightened expression was actually reacting to: the fact that people like her, and the rest of the citizens of Flint, might still be looked down upon and left to suffer by a system that sees them as less than human.

She made this sentiment clear in her response to that viral Trump photo:

Regardless of your political opinions, I hope you agree that water should be a basic human right for everyone, including Little Miss Flint.

Beyoncé is going on a new world tour, and she’s helping Flint along the way.

Beyoncé joins the group of A-listers fighting for the people of Flint, Michigan.

Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. And she had more than a few surprises up her sleeves.

As to be expected with just about anything Bey-related, the Internet exploded in euphoria.

GIF via CBS/Pepsi Super Bowl 50 halftime show.

Her killer performance didn't shy away from getting political. And it was glorious.

Bey's all-female backup dancers were dressed to impress in outfits honoring the Black Panthers (the 1960s civil rights group that also celebrates its 50th anniversary this year). The lyrics to the new single she performed, "Formation," celebrate blackness and Southern culture while touching on the deep racial inequality that still lives on in modern-day America. The song's music video, by the way, features Bey squatting on a sinking New Orleans cop car in a Hurricane Katrina-ravaged neighborhood ... so yeah, her message was anything but subtle. (Again, glorious.)

Beyond her momentous performance, Beyoncé did something else that shook Bey Land to its core: She announced a new world tour, which is named "Formation" after her latest single, that will kick off this spring.

If the Internet hadn't been exploding Bey-ness before, by then, it certainly was.

But the coolest part about Beyoncé's new tour is that it'll help the city of Flint, Michigan, heal after its recent water crisis.

The pop star's #BeyGood charity initiative is partnering with United Way and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint for the tour "to create a fund that will address long-term developmental, education, nutrition, and health needs of the children affected by the Flint Water Crisis," according to a statement from the singer.

Photo by Matt Cowan/Getty Images.

Specifics on how exactly the money will be raised from the tour have yet to be released, but fans are encouraged to follow @BeyGood on Twitter to get updates on how they can help.

Though Beyoncé's help is no doubt appreciated, Flint could use all of our support.

After Flint swapped its water source back in 2014 and failed to properly treat the water, lead started seeping into residents' supply. Folks complained the water didn't look right and that it smelled odd, but red flags were largely ignored for months.

A Flint 5-year-old gets her finger pricked during a lead screening. Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images.

The debacle has exposed thousands of Flint children to lead, which can severely affect mental and physical development. Advocates across the state and country — along with a presidential candidate — have called on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to resign for dropping the ball at the expense of an entire city's health.

Beyoncé is the latest A-lister to shine a light on the water crisis.

Flint has had no short supply of help from Hollywood, with stars like Cher, Rosie O'Donnell, Snoop Dogg, Jimmy Fallon, and Big Sean (plus many more) pitching in to help those affected.

But we can't rely on Hollywood and bottled water to solve the problem. As Flint native and documentarian Michael Moore explained in an open letter, sending bottled water is like putting a Band-Aid on a cut that desperately needs stitches.

Yes, short-term solutions are important, but larger systemic changes — likefixing broken infrastructure and holding accountable the leaders who caused this mess — are vital in helping Flint in the decades to come (not to mention ensuring this won't happen again).

This isn't just a Flint problem, either. Communities across the country, from Albuquerque and Denver to Phoenix and San Diego, are suffering from deteriorating plumbing systems and compromised water. Just take a look at what's coming out of the tap in St. Joseph, Louisiana.

From the sounds of it, Beyoncé's focus on Flint might just spur some of the long-term solutions residents there so desperately need.

It's too soon to know how much the "Formation" tour will benefit Flint. But if anyone knows how to throw some weight behind a worthy cause, I'd put my money on the girl who runs the world.

GIF via CBS/Pepsi Super Bowl 50 halftime show.

Bottled water is a Band-Aid. Flint is hemorrhaging — it's going to take more.

Why wouldn't Michael Moore want us sending water to Flint, Michigan?

The documentary-maker wrote an open letter imploring people to think deeper than just the surface-level solution of sending bottled water when it comes to helping the city, which is in the middle of a public water crisis.

The short story of what happened in Flint in case you don't know: An emergency manager appointed by the governor chose to switch Flint's water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. They didn't treat the water correctly, which meant just about everyone was exposed to lead in their drinking water for over a year, and officials sat on this information until it was truly a health crisis of epic proportions.

The people of Flint used to get their water from clean, delicious Lake Huron. Then it changed to Flint River's polluted water. Image by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Wikimedia Commons.

“I was hysterical. I cried when they gave me my first lead report," LeeAnne Walters, whose children all tested positive for lead poisoning after the Flint River switchover, told the Detroit Free Press about the heart-wrenching moment she learned they'd been affected.

"I pushed them to drink water — 'Put down that juice, go get some water.' [Now] lead is in our blood," Melissa Mays, another Flint mom, also told the Free Press, expressing her regret at having her teen boys drink the water. She says now she will be plagued with worries and doubts whenever something goes wrong with them in the future, not knowing if it's from the lead or not.

5-year-old Morgan Walker tears up during a finger prick for a lead screening provided as a free service for Flint's young children in January 2016 following the water crisis. Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images.

Essentially, the Flint water crisis is a complex, gargantuan-level disaster that will take various phases and layers of work to address. The first phase of response has been to establish that the poisoning has occurred, ring the alarm loud and clear for the whole country, and to immediately get some clean water to the citizens. That's a necessary short-term reaction and definitely something that was needed.

And people rushed to fill that need.

Like when Cher got Icelandic Glacial to partner with her to donate trucks full of water:

And many other celebrities and regular citizens followed suit.

But what comes next? And does Moore really want us to stop sending water to residents in need?

The city's immediate need for bottled water is far from over, but the larger point he's trying to make is right on. We can only solve the problem if we focus on more than just fixing one symptom of it. Here's how we can do that.

A kind of second phase of recovery requires moving on to doing things to fix Flint's water systems for the medium- and long-terms and to rectify the faulty system that allowed this lead poisoning to occur in the first place. It'd be foolish to let the decision-makers responsible for such bad oversight just promise they'll have really good oversight this time, they swear, in order to fix the mess.

Here are three things all Americans should be doing right now (no matter your political affiliation) in order to help Flint move forward for the long term:

1. Call for Gov. Rick Snyder's resignation.

Snyder speaks to the media about the Flint water crisis on Jan. 27, 2016. Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images.

This isn't about partisan politics; it's just a good idea for how to move on from this crisis. A neutral party is needed in Michigan to assess the situation clearly, not from the vantage point of someone who has a clear reason to minimize his role in the disaster. In his open letter, Moore explains why this is so important:

You can sign the petition here.

2. Insist the state of Michigan be held financially responsible for its role in Flint's poisoning.

Snyder is trying to have Flint declared a federal disaster zone, which will likely at some point be appropriate and necessary. But the significance of this is that it will take the state off the hook for having to cough up the funds it should be providing to clean the mess it pretty much willfully made.

Here's the financial breakdown from Moore:

Fred the handyman explains a new water filter to a resident of Shiloh Commons, a low-income housing area in Flint. Citizens have been given water testing jugs, filters, and clean water by the National Guard. Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images.

Once the state pays its share of the clean up, the federal funds should be a next step, but the state's responsibility for the crisis should not be ignored or overlooked.

Remember the mom beating herself up for having her sons drink the tap water? Chances are she and everyone like her are going to need a lot of services to help their children achieve the best cognitive abilities possible. It's gonna require funding — every penny of assistance Flint can get will be needed — and that includes state money.

How do you insist on this? Contact your local paper and write a letter to your editor or just send lots of tweets (to news sources and elected officials), no matter where you live.

3. As soon as the state has earmarked their share of payment for Flint, the recovery operations need to be placed into the hands of the federal government. STAT.

National Guard members distribute free water to Flint citizens on Jan. 23, 2016. Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images.

Moore has pointed out that the water replacement efforts must be bigger in scope than just providing bottled water. He's right. The federal government can send in help on a level the state just can't. Here's what he proposes:

Again, you can call for this by writing letters to the editor, signing Moore's petition, and calling your elected officials and asking them to take a stand together for Flint on your (their constituent's) behalf.

These are the things we can all do to help the people of Flint beyond just sending bottled water.

It's not that bottled water isn't appreciated. It is. It's just that it only goes so far for so long. And bottled water treats the symptom, not the problem. At this point, Flint needs people to roll up their sleeves and help get them back on track by holding the people who caused the problem in the first place accountable.

Matt Hopper comforts 5-year-old Nyla Hopper after she has blood taken for a free lead testing. Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images.

The people of Flint need to know that even though their state failed them, America has not forsaken them — or the possibility for their futures. Flint can rise again, in time, with our help.