Vicki Baker
We’ve all done it. You stay in a hotel and pack away the unused complementary toiletries. Then slowly, but surely, your home toiletry stash begins to look like a CVS Pharmacy. Don’t fret. Kiwanis Club has the perfect solution! Donate these unused toiletries so that individuals in need can benefit from your inventory of shampoo, soap and all things hygiene-related.
Personal hygiene products are used every day, yet often are overlooked as donations. Used in our everyday lives, these basic items are invaluable to impoverished individuals and families. By collecting unused toiletries just a few times a year, you can easily donate hundreds of valued items. The Kiwanis Club in turn, delivers these to Interfaith Ministries.
Interfaith Ministries serves over 3,000 people a year as the primary resource for emergency basic needs assistance in Northern Denton County with the goal of helping people to become self-sufficient. In addition to providing personal care and hygiene supplies, they offer Denton residents on an as needed basis assistance with rent/shelter, utilities, prescriptions and medical care, public transportation, eyeglasses, diapering supplies for adults and children, back-to-school supplies, coats for children and summer fan distribution.
Supplying basic items like soap and toothpaste can help improve the health hygiene of a person in need, but it’s also about dignity and self-esteem. It helps marginalized people rebuild their lives. You can rest assured that your shampoo will be washing the hair of someone who is trying to get their life back on track. And women in abusive situations get access to toiletries of their own giving them an opportunity to start fresh.
The next time you stay at a hotel, give it a try. It’s just a little thing, but the donations are sincerely appreciated. Just toss some extra ziploc bags in your suitcase. It makes travel a little bit nicer and you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you “paid it forward”.
Interested in other ways to “pay it forward?” Visit the Kiwanis Club Robson Ranch on the first and third Friday at 8:30 a.m. in the clubhouse. For more information, contact Art Masciere at [email protected].