“There’s some that are without a home at all, some that are doubled up with other students, some that are living in abandoned homes, campgrounds,” he said.
That number of students was both astonishing and heartbreaking for Williams and his son, SCSD alum 26-year-old Jalen Wood. Many students don’t even have basic hygiene essentials like a toothbrush or soap.
So Wood decided to take matters into his own hands.
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“I feel like the kids that don’t have the things provided for them, somebody should provide for them — so it should be us,” Wood said.
He and a team of others in the district have put together a hygiene supply drive that will run until the middle of April.
School of Innovation sophomore Chance Ward has been closely working with the supply drive as part of a government class project that focuses on homelessness.
He said high school is hard enough as it is without the extra pressure of looking a certain way.
“(The kids) feel like if they come to school without some of this stuff, they’ll get bullied,” he said.
Anyone can donate and items will be available to all students in the school district. Some of the items requested are body lotion, body spray, deodorant, hair brushes, combs, shampoo, conditioner, tissues and feminine hygiene products.
The district’s lead nurse, Ashley Wilson said the nursing staff gets some hygiene supply donations from outside companies, but those have grown sparse as the years continue.
“If we see it on clearance or something the nurses are really good about picking it up to keep the extra things in our clinics,” she said.
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When the drive wraps up, there will be a day that any student in the district can come and get items that they or someone they know may need.
Any extra items will be split up between the nursing stations at the school buildings to give out as needed.
“It’s wonderful to see the community coming together to help. It’s Springfield helping Springfield is truly what it is,” Wilson said.
Donations can be dropped off at The Dome, located at 700 S. Limestone Street on the Career Connect ED side of the building Monday through Thursday between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Items can also be taken to any school building during regular hours.
The drive will technically run until April 16, but organizers are looking for possibilities to expand it indefinitely.
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