Being clean is not a luxury or a privilege it is a basic human right that many of us take completely for granted. Where would you be without your morning shower? How would you feel heading off to work or school knowing that you are not at your best? Hygiene
Sadly, simply being clean is denied to many people in the UK who are homeless or living in poverty. Imagine a child going off to school unwashed and at a total disadvantage. The knock-on effect doesn’t take much imagination.
Thankfully the Hygiene Bank is an amazing charity that is coming to the rescue with the help of individuals and organisations all over the UK who are collecting personal care items for redistribution. https://www.thehygienebank.com/
A grassroots, people-powered charity, The Hygiene Bank is grounded in community. The charity collects and re-distributes donated toiletries, hygiene, beauty and personal care items to schools, charities, local authority services and voluntary organisations. These, in turn, are then given for free to the people who need them. Dignity is important and it’s not right that anyone should face hygiene poverty in the modern world.
Nat Brown (CX Strategy Manager) who co-ordinated the TH March collection said: “I had a tough time myself many years ago but my heart was warmed reading about the Hygiene Bank’s initiative. It is tragic reading about millions living in poverty in the UK and sometimes you can feel helpless in all of this. But with a feeling of wanting to “pay it forward” and knowing how generous we can be in our office, I thought it’d be a lovely idea leading up to Christmas to get involved in the “It’s in the bag” campaign making up Christmas bags of cosmetic and hygiene goodies and essentials for vulnerable people. What a success – colleagues really embraced the idea and my desk was full of donations within days and we’ll definitely continue campaigns in the future”.
She added: “A 2-hour round trip from Plymouth and all our donated items were delivered safely to our nearest Hygiene Bank drop off point in a village down many winding lines near Kingsbridge!
A quick last second estimate found that we at TH March’s Yelverton office had managed to collect quite a lot including: Around 30-40 shower gels, bubble baths and body scrubs, 20 shampoos and hair products, 4 packs of facial wipes, 20 body lotions, potions, butters and hand creams, 8 gift sets with aftershave, perfumes, bath fizzes and the like, 8 Christmas “It’s in the Bag” bags filled with lovely goodies and necessities for men, women and babies, over 100 mini lipsticks, half a dozen hairbrushes, around a dozen toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorants, 3 bottles of mouthwash, 2 packs of nappies… plus much more”.