2023 Hygiene Bag Donation

Hygiene Bag Donation, October 14, 2023, New York, NY

Spero's Hope donates 300 bags of hygiene products to residents of the Bronx

We regularly read about the untenable conditions that arise from poverty — most notably food insecurity and the lack of affordable housing. A third condition is hygiene poverty — the inability to afford toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and similar hygiene products. While there are public and private programs that help families obtain food and housing, there are none that provide hygiene products. Hygiene products are generally expensive, taxed, and not covered by programs such as SNAP and WIC.

Hygiene poverty affects the education children receive as they are more likely to miss school and less likely to effectively build social circles, and it can prevent adults from finding employment and lead to performance warnings when good hygiene is required on the job.

As part of our annual outreach to our community, Spero's Hope donated hygiene bags to 300 families in the Bronx. The bags included toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant, laundry detergent, and a number of other hygiene products.

We thank Rising Ground for their partnership and logistical support and the Soundview-Parkchester Family Enrichment Center for the use of their facility and their assistance in receiving, packaging, and distributing the products. Their employees helped the Spero's Hope team make this event a big success!