By: Eva Monhaut
Staff Writer
emonhaut@iu.edu
The holidays are the perfect chance for students to step back, spend time with loved ones and give back to their community; this Thanksgiving students have a new opportunity to give back.
The Student Nurses Association was collecting donations from Nov. 12-19 for Hope Ministries in South Bend. Hope Ministries provides transitional housing, free meals and assistance with healing to homeless or at-risk men, women, and children of the area.
The social media coordinator for the Student Nurses Association, Darcie Johnson, expressed her joy with being a part of giving back to a community especially in these chaotic and stressful times.
“I feel that running donation drives is a great way for students to get involved in their community without having to dedicate a lengthy amount of time. As college students, we spend a lot of time studying and attending classes which might not always leave us much time to volunteer. This provides an opportunity for students to give back. There are many groups in South Bend that help out our community but don’t always have enough resources to do so. This drive specifically is working to gather and donate hygiene products to Hope Ministries so that they may provide those to individuals who come to them,” Johnson said.
Specifically, the group is looking for certain items which Hope Ministries is most in need of including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, Chapstick and other toiletries and basic hygiene items.
“I would say my favorite part about helping with projects like this is being able to work with the other students and find ways to give back to our community. With the pandemic, it is difficult to go out into the community, but doing a drive like this keeps everyone safe and helps groups like Hope Ministries provide care to individuals in South Bend,” Johnson concluded.
Hope Ministries is currently taking donations and accepting volunteers. Currently, they are in need of hygiene products, canned goods, nonperishable items, and meat. Check out https://www.hopesb.org/hope-ministries-urgent-needs to see the full list of urgent needs.
