Every year for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, College Possible celebrates Dr. King’s legacy with a day of service. In January, we planned to complete a service opportunity with the United Way of the Midlands’ Shine Bright event, but it was postponed until the end of March due to the rise of the COVID-19 cases in the Omaha area. On Wednesday, March 23, we attended the rescheduled Shine Bright event to prepare boxes of hygiene products for local students.
Before volunteering, we learned how lack of access to hygiene products could impact students’ health, academics, and confidence. The Shine Bright event gives essential hygiene items to kindergarten, sixth grade, and ninth-grade students in Omaha and Council Bluffs Public Schools. These items can help boost students’ confidence and help them “shine bright” to achieve more in school and beyond. The College Possible leadership team and AmeriCorps members helped during our volunteer time to assemble the boxes, to which hygiene items were later added.
This was a fun service opportunity. We set up our rhythm, had a great time, and felt rewarded,” said Ali Dassner, AmeriCorps member for College Possible Omaha.
Hygiene items in the Shine Bright Boxes typically include shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, laundry soap, body wash, lotion, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, underwear, lip balm, hand sanitizer and tissues. The boxes are further customized for girls and boys and for straight and curly hair textures.
Participating in a day of service really honors Dr. King’s legacy, as he believed in making life better for everybody. What the United Way of the Midlands is doing with its Shine Bright event is a perfect example of making a difference in the community,” said Arvin Frazier III, College Possible Omaha’s Senior Executive Director.
