Dear Readers,
The Rotary Club of Bedford asks you to donate personal care items to be dropped off at its Hope for the Hungry meal-packing event on Saturday, April 26 at Middlesex Community College.
Collecting personal care items is as much a part of the fight against food insecurity as meal-packing. Many personal care items (see list below) are as much a necessity of everyday living as food, but much more expensive. Those who struggle with food insecurity also struggle financially, making it difficult to decide which to do without. Donated personal care items help bring hope to the hungry who must make those decisions. No donation is too small.
Here’s a list of personal care items that are especially beneficial to the students: deodorant, body wash, face wash, dish soap, tissues, feminine hygiene products, shampoo, conditioner, tooth paste, tooth brushes, mouth wash, dental floss, razors, shaving cream, hand sanitizer, paper towels, toilet paper, hair brushes, laundry detergent, fabric softener, Q-tips, cotton balls, diapers, and wipes.
Personal care donations can be dropped off between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm at the Campus Center of Middlesex Community College, 591 Springs Brook Road, in Bedford. As with past collections by Bedford Rotary, the donations will benefit MCC students, faculty, staff, and families in need through the college’s food pantries on the Bedford and Lowell campuses.
Making a donation delivery is also an opportunity to see what Hope for the Hungry meal-packing is all about. Spending a few minutes to watch over 100 community volunteers join the Bedford, Chelmsford, and Merrimack Valley Rotary partners in packing up to 50,000 fortified Mac N’ Cheese meals could be motivational. The nationwide Meals of Hope organization is the guiding partner. With the sponsorship funds raised by Rotary, they provide the meal ingredients, tools, bags, boxes, and the “how to” for a packing process that will have those thousands of meals assembled in just a few hours. And you’ll see it being done by families, friends, and neighbors, young and old, all having fun doing something good for people in need. Maybe next year you’ll want to be one of them.
So, check that list of personal care items, pick up a few, drop them off, and check out the Hope for the Hungry meal-packing to fight food insecurity. – Better yet, volunteer and join the fun this year. Sign up at https://www.bedfordmarotary.org/page/hope-for-the-hungry or show up and register on Saturday, April 26th at MCC.