The Intersectionality Project (TIP) is connecting with the Carbondale community to support local families during the holiday season by hosting a Hygiene Drive. The drive will take place up until Dec. 8. Items can be placed in the donation bins all over campus.
Items to donate include deodorant, toothpaste, soap, feminine products, and lotion.
Daniel Killins, the founder of TIP, said, “The hygiene drive’s goal is really to just collect for the needy. Hygiene is very important. I’ve realized there’s a lot of people who don’t have soap, who can’t afford soap. People who are homeless get the sample sizes or the travel sizes, because they can’t afford the full product. We wanted people to give us unused items that will last.”
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Many off campus ministries and communities have holiday drives at this time, so it is important to the organization that they offer resources that differ from what is already being collected.
“I know we usually focus on canned goods, clothes and blankets, which are very essential. But hygiene is the one thing to me that can be overlooked. You have to make sure that you are cleansed, so you don’t get any more bacteria or diseases coming back to you,” Killins said.
The group is also requesting masculine products in particular this season.
“I really do want a lot of masculine and male products. When it comes to men, we don’t really have products gathered, specifically men-scented or men-marketed.”
Any donations are highly appreciated, regardless of how big or small.
Killins said, “We need people to give, because it is important to the community. I mean, it’s the time of giving, is it not?”
The Intersectionality Project (TIP) got started in honor of LGBTQ History Month in 2021. It was co-created by the then Black Resource Center coordinator Chara McKinzie and current head of TIP, Killins.
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Killins, with the support from McKinzie, came up with the idea of having a roundtable. It was inspired by a roundtable on YouTube called The Grapevine. Students can come together to contribute their own perspective and ideas freely regarding their black and queer identities.
“She [McKinzie] saw my vision,” Killins said, “so I decided that it was time to create an RSO for black and queer people on this campus, because we didn’t really have any black and queer specific organizations that were duly accepted.”
Members of TIP converse with the intent of creating more diversity on campus as well as throughout Carbondale, and they address issues that affect them personally.
Killins said he wanted a place where people could come and learn, and they could see themselves and envision themselves making a difference.
“This is really a black-founded and black-concentrated RSO, but we also want people in the Hispanic and Latino community to join us as well. We just want it to be a place where people can really get involved,” Killins said.
By including a variety of voices, TIP’s goal is to hear a variety of opinions and discussions to gradually make campus and the surrounding areas more inclusive.
One of their steps in doing so included the discussion and organization of the Holiday Hygiene Drive.
TIP spent time connecting with other groups on campus to both gather products that they think people need most and to increase the promotion of the project.
“My frat brothers [Omega Delta Phi] are in charge of collecting the products and giving them to Carbondale United, and WGSS, [Organization for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies] is in charge of making sure that the LGBTQ community gets the products that they need.”
TIP is also working with two outside organizations during this project: the Carbondale Park District, as a drop off location, and Carbondale United.
Jessica Harrocks, Carbondale United Program Director, said, “Carbondale United’s mission is to eliminate the root causes of gun violence.”
Those causes are often related to poverty, and access to opportunities for employment and education. With donations from TIP and the hygiene drive, they can help families combat some of these obstacles.
“We at Carbondale United are building community so that we may tackle these challenges together,” said Harrocks.
Carbondale United’s office is located in the Northeast side of the city, in a historically Black neighborhood, Harrocks said. It is important for the group to partner with other organizations like SIU, who can bring attention to their cause, and provide support for their growing organization.
“Our most vulnerable members of the community are especially susceptible to having little to no income, and that can leave individuals and families reliant upon community support for basic hygiene items,” Harrocks said.
One of the main activities performed at Carbondale United is helping people find employment. Having personal hygiene products help people feel confident, and allow them to enter or re-enter the workforce or school with personal pride.
Harrocks said, “While there are government programs like SNAP that struggling families utilize for acquiring basic food needs, there are little to no subsidization allocated for hygiene items. Your donations will go directly to those in need in Carbondale.”
Ideally, Carbondale United would like to impact 50 families through this hygiene drive, and the donation from TIP, by providing at least some relief in acquiring basic needs.
“It feels good to know that I have people who want to help us, or who want to receive products. I don’t know the people that they’re reaching out to, that’s none of my business, but I know they appreciate what I’m doing and my kindness,” Killins said.
In the name of holiday spirit, Killins said he would like those who are able to donate to, “Give, give, give, to your heart’s desire.”
Drop off locations for the Holiday Hygiene Drive include:
- Morris Library (first floor)
- The Student Center (first floor)
- The Student Multicultural Resource Center
- The Communications Building: (one in the journalism office, and one in the communication building foyer by the staircase)
- Carbondale Park District
See the flier for more information.
For more information about Carbondale United, please visit their website at www.carbondale-united.org.
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