Collect Toiletries for Care Kits for the Homeless

JoannaT·Dec 06, 2019

Hi Elphas!This is Joanna from Oui Finds, a soon to be launched social for-profit in San Francisco.I am a huge supporter of social causes including reducing homelessness (the other focus areas are the environment and empowering women).This holiday season, I’d like to ask those that travel and stay in hotels to collect & bring back the unused unopened toiletries. They can be reorganized and packaged as care kits for homeless youth & adults.My former co-workers who traveled a lot helped me gather a grocery bag full of toiletries one year.These toiletries can be dropped off at Project Open Hand on Polk Street in the Tenderloin. POH makes food to feed homebound individuals who may be elderly, frail or other reason; they also serve food at Senior Centers. I am a long-time supporter/volunteer of POH.Also Glide church collects toiletries too.Thanks for being part of the Bay Area community and helping others in need. Happy Holidays!

krysflores·Dec 06, 2019

Hi, Joanna. Thanks for posting this! Do you know if they have an Amazon wishlist? If we can purchase toiletries that way, I'd love to donate.

JoannaT·Dec 07, 2019

Thanks for thinking about this, Krys.The reason the small toiletry items are typically gathered is because the spare items from hotel bathrooms fit just right when they get packaged in a ziploc sandwich bag. Full size items can’t be packaged this way. Homeless don’t have storage places and carry everything on their back. I’ll check with Project Open Hand; they administer the shower trailer that shows up in front of their building.Will get back to you on this!Also I had volunteered with a Homeless Youth NGO who go out each night to try to find youth & get them off the street.-Joanna

JoannaT·Dec 07, 2019

Krys,Project Open Hand does have a community partnership with Amazon for shoppers. Not sure if POH has a wishlist. What POH does have is a finger in trying to cope with the homelesscrisis here in the Western USA.Btw, here's a link describing the Amazon Smile program:https://www.openhand.org/give/more-ways-give/give-through-community-partnersThanks for asking,Joanna

Rebecca·Dec 09, 2019

By any chance can we set up a donation bin at Friday's Elpha party? I don't work near the Tenderloin but have been collecting toiletries (and samples from Sephora) for this purpose!

JoannaT·Dec 09, 2019

That would be great if someone can collect a bunch of toiletries and transport them to Project Open Hand!I am leaving town on Friday morning. I’m sad that I’ll miss the party. I’ll drop off my toiletry collection to POH before leaving town and another drop off prior to Christmas.Thank you everyone for helping those less fortunate than us.We’re blessed we have this community.

JoannaT·Dec 09, 2019

Btw, I volunteer through a large general (one off tasks/events) non-profit OneBrick.org and we helped bag supplies to homeless youth at this South of Market (SOMA) based non-profit last month:At The Crossroads167 Jessie Street, San Francisco, CA 94105https://atthecrossroads.org/The mission of At The Crossroads is to reach out to homeless youth and young adults at their point of need, and work with them to build healthy and fulfilling lives. Our innovative model focuses on young people who do not access traditional services and are disconnected from any type of consistent support. We work with young people who others have given up on, who would not get help without us. We remove common barriers to service by bringing our counselors onto the streets, and shaping our support services around the needs of each individual client. Our goal is to help our clients build outstanding lives, not just lives of subsistence.We accomplish our mission through a combination of nighttime street outreach and one-on-one counseling, and collaboration with other service providers. We walk the streets of the Mission and Downtown San Francisco at nighttime, bringing help to our clients, rather than making them come to us. We help our clients with anything and everything they need, providing unconditional support for as long as they need to build the lives they want. We partner and advocate to make sure that there is an accessible, culturally competent continuum of care that will provide our clients with the opportunities to realize their dreams.As you have read above, At the Crossroads is doing incredible nighttime forays into downtown and the Tenderloin giving assistance and counseling. I give a hand to At the Crossroads San Francisco for the work that they do. If supplies go here, contact the non-profit to coordinate a drop off time/day. Thanks!

QuinnWang·Dec 11, 2019

I just volunteered through OneBrick last weekend! 👍🏻

JoannaT·Dec 11, 2019

That’s wonderful, Quinn!Did you know that OneBrick.org is a national NGO. I came across OneBrickers (OBs) in Washington DC. Groups of OBs helped and continue to help in New Orleans for Habitat for Humanity building homes for those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.OneBrick does so much for the communities they serve. Check them out. They’re there when people & non-profits need help. Wouldn’t you want to be a part of such a team?

QuinnWang·Dec 11, 2019

Let’s volunteer together sometime!