During the summer of 2022, St. Mary’s Hospital – Janesville was approached by Youth2Youth 4 Change, a local student group that focuses on reducing substance abuse, to collaborate on the creation of hygiene kits for individuals experiencing extreme poverty or homelessness.

The project’s concept was inspired by a need discovered from student experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. SSM Health and Youth2Youth 4 Change partnered to host a supply drive. Over a two-week period, they collected more than 300 toothbrushes, 150 bars of soap, several large containers of laundry pods, shampoo, conditioner, feminine hygiene products and much more. 

Youth2Youth 4 Change students then put together more than 100 hygiene kits. They have created a distribution system to share the kits whenever and wherever they are needed.