Diana Hussein from Dearborn, Michigan created the Twitter handle @DietDrPepper back in 2009. According to the 29-year-old communications specialist, the drink was simply on her desk at the time that she was thinking of a name for her account on the social network.
Over the years, Hussein has reached out to Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, the company behind the beverage she named her Twitter account after, to see if they would be interested in acquiring the username from her.
"I hadn't expected anything outside of maybe some free pop," said Hussein.
What Hussen received in return for the Twitter handle, however, was so much more than just "some free pop."
It was not until January that the company began to show interest in acquiring the account, with a representative for the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group offering Hussein merchandise in exchange.
Hussein, however, decided to trade the @DietDrPepper Twitter handle for 41,000 bottles of water.
What are the thousands of bottled water for? Well, they are not for Hussein herself. Rather, the 41,000 bottles of water were delivered to Flint, Michigan, which has been facing a high-profile water crisis.
Hussein found out that the company also owned and distributed bottled water in addition to its soda products, which she thought was a great opportunity to provide assistance to Flint, to which Dr. Pepper Snapple Group has already given donations before.
"She wasn't trying to come after a monetary value," said Brian Bell, the public relations manager for Dr. Pepper, in an interview with ABC News. Hussein made the decision to relinquish her hold on the @DietDrPepper Twitter handle if the company would help Flint.
Donations of bottled water and water filters are being sent to Flint to help residents deal with the high levels of lead that have been found in the municipal water supply of the city.
The issue has been going around in circles for the past few years, but only recently has the first major step been taken to solve the problem. Under Mayor Karen Weaver's FAST Start Program, the first lead water service line was removed, with the program looking to eliminate all lead water lines that have prevented residents from accessing clean tap water.
Until the problem is gone, donations such as those made by Hussein, with the help of the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, will be needed by Flint's citizens.
Hussein now uses the Twitter handle @heyadiana.
