People who live outside or in their cars have trouble getting very basic hygiene items – things we take for granted like soap, toothpaste and shampoo. Love Wins Ministries provides travel size Freshpacs to the people we feed every weekend in the park.
What is a Freshpac?
A Freshpac is simply a quart sized sealable plastic bag that has the simple things you use every morning – soap, shampoo, razor, etc. The items are travel size because the people who need them don’t have storage facilities – they travel light.
How Can We Help Provide Freshpacs?
Here is a list of things that go into the Freshpacs that we provide to people who need them. We encourage you to put out a call to your congregation, service club or small group to help gather any or all of these items.
People acquire these things in different ways: Some collect hotel-size items when traveling, others buy travel
size goods at department stores when they do their shopping and some people have reported success asking
dentists or local hotels to donate travel size items.
• Toothbrush (Dollar stores often have 2 and 3 packs of these for $1)
• Toothpaste (Travel size – Target and Wal-Mart are good for this. Also, dentists are a good source, and
can order these in bulk, should you happen to know a dentist)
• Shampoo (Travel size – also, encourage friends who travel to save theirs)
• Soap/ Body Wash (See Shampoo notes. Body wash is preferred)
• Razor (Disposable. Dollar stores have 5 packs for $1)
• Feminine hygiene products (Regular pads are best)
• Deodorant (Travel size)
• Body Lotion or Baby Oil (Travel size – Baby lotion works well)
• Wet wipes (Travel packs of 10 or so are good)
• Chap Stick (Generic works fine)
• Quart size ziploc-style bags (Check the dollar store)
• Single Use hand warmers (8-10 hour type – look in sporting goods dept. – These are most needed in the winter, but anytime you see them on sale, grab them!)
What about full size items?
We do have a need for bigger items – we use them for shoe boxes we fill with hygiene items for low-income
households. (Like bottles of shampoo, packs of razors, etc.)
What do we do with this stuff?
If your congregation or small group would like to donate items on the list above OR are looking for a service
project to do as a group (like assembling these kits for us), please contact Hugh.
Note: We really do need your help in filling these up. It would tickle me if your church or small group could get behind this and collect this sort of stuff for us. You can go here and download a printable copy of this post, to share or email.
My daughters high school group would like to assemble kits for you. They would like to organize a drive to collect the items you need.
Thanks