In March, Service Club hosted a hygiene kit drive in order to support House of Grace, a homeless shelter committed to restoring impoverished lives within our community. This event was a fitting way to kick off Lent, a season that reflects the true spirit of giving back. From adding to the donation boxes in the Dining Commons to helping assemble hygiene kits, Lancers were empowered to support the basic needs of their community and make a small contribution to its avail.
Starting in early March, the club began to collect basic items such as bandages, hand sanitizer, tissues, soap, menstrual products, hair products, deodorant, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. Items that are often taken for granted by more wealthy, privileged communities are, in fact, in great demand by the less fortunate. This came as a revelation to some Lancers, who had not experienced limited access to basic necessities since the initial outbreak of the coronavirus. Shruti Dusankar (’28) says, “During the pandemic, when there was a major toilet roll shortage, I started to understand the importance of the basic needs that I had always taken for granted. Through the hygiene kit drive, I realized that there are people who still struggle today to gain access to these basic needs.”
Each of these hygiene products are essential to a person’s health and help combat hygiene neglect among those in poverty. With an estimated 1.5 billion people lacking access to basic sanitation services, this is an overwhelming issue that can only be ameliorated through small acts of change. President Avani Thakur (’27) saw this issue and decided that the best way to take a stand for affected communities was through a hygiene kit drive. Thakur explained, “The club hasn’t hosted a donation drive yet so we thought that it would make sense to host one so that students could get their last-minute service hours whilst giving back to a community in constant need of assistance. Additionally, access to hygiene products among marginalized communities allows them to preserve their dignity in the face of discrimination. The more hygiene products Service Club could acquire, the better, and the donation boxes allowed the club to obtain the best results.
Service Club assembled the kits on March 27 in the Innovation Gen Lab after school. The club partitioned the collected items into five categories, each category with a corresponding bag. All attendees also made a total of fifty cards to send along with the bags. These cards offered words of support and comfort to the people receiving the items. Dusankar noted, “It was great to see that people within our Lancer community were interested in providing for their communities. It was really heartwarming.” Thakur then connected this sentiment with the season of Lent and act of giving back: “In the spirit of giving back it is important to take a step back from our busy lives and appreciate the things we have and then be able to give those things to those who need it more.” While some may have basic necessities in their home or a drive away, others struggle to find them, and it is critical to step up as Saint Francis Lancers and take part in this ongoing struggle. This effort shed light on a simple fact: collective action along with a sense of compassion can transform lives.
