Although food and toy drives are common during the holidays, students at the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center are organizing a charity drive to collect items not commonly requested: hygiene products.
On Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, volunteers will be in the Union Food Court collecting hygiene items from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All donations will go to the Crossroads Urban Center, a non-profit organization that provides essential items, such as food and clothing, to homeless and needy individuals in Utah.
“Initially, we wanted to do a toy drive, but (Crossroads Urban Center) said ‘No, we have an abundance of toys,'” said Aly Sosa, Crossroads’ program director and a senior in economics and sociology.
Volunteers want to collect a variety of hygiene products, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine products, razors, facial creams, combs, soap, mouthwash, socks, shower caps, diapers, shampoo and conditioner.
Monetary donations will also be accepted, Sosa said, because “we don’t assume that everyone is carrying a box of razors with them.”
Volunteers will use all of the funds collected to purchase hygiene products for the center.
“Very often, people need the basics,” said Glenn Bailey, executive director at the center. “That is something that they are always in need of.”
In 2006 alone, the center spent nearly $1 million on various programs aimed at helping the less fortunate. Forty percent of the people who receive help from the center are 18 years old or younger, Bailey said.