JPS Junior Volunteers put together 280 hygiene kits Tuesday afternoon, getting them more than halfway to their goal of assembling 500 before their time at the health network ends in about three weeks.
“It took incredible teamwork to get all these items together and then to get them organized,” said JPS Manager of Volunteer Services Kim Pinter. “We couldn’t do this without the efforts of our awesome volunteers.”
Izz Sayed is a captain in the Junior Volunteers program. He helped coordinate the work to sort nearly 1,500 items including soap, shampoo and conditioner, toothbrushes and toothpaste, insect repellent and sunscreen and then put them in plastic bags to be distributed to needy Tarrant County residents. Sayed said his summer stint as a volunteer at JPS will end July 17 to allow him a chance to prepare for his senior year of high school. He’s confident Junior Volunteers will be able to meet their goal by then.
Instead of spending a summer day taking a dip in a swimming pool or playing video games, Izz is happy to be doing something that makes life better for others said Mitzi VanderArk, JPS Community Engagement and Volunteer Coordinator.
“Izz was excited and sharing with the other captain that JPS thinks what they are doing is important,” VanderArk said. “That means so much to these kids as they want their experience to matter.”
Contents of the kits were donated by JPS team members from the Human Resources and Information Systems departments who collected nearly 1,500 items that filled the bags. They dropped off a big load of necessities in the Volunteer Services office Monday afternoon. When they’re completed, the kits will be taken to the JPS Medical Home at True Worth Place, where they’ll be distributed to people who need them.