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The Campbell County Hygiene Project began after learning that many children participating in "Shop with a Cop" were using their holiday shopping opportunity to buy basic hygiene items instead of toys. After speaking with several school nurses and counselors, we discovered that due to the economic decline in Gillette, many families could no longer afford these essential items.
The project officially launched in 2019 with the mission of delivering hygiene packages to Campbell County Title I schools and the local homeless shelter. Each package initially contained a washcloth, travel-sized hygiene products, and dental hygiene items. Adult bags delivered to the local homeless shelter also included a razor and a bottle of lotion. That first year, we were proud to donate approximately 900 hygiene packages to the community.
Following the success of the 2019 launch, the Gillette Rotary Club chose to continue the project in 2020. That year, we expanded our recipient list to include the Volunteers of America and the Gillette Abuse Refuge Foundation, along with the Campbell County School District and the local homeless shelter.
In 2020, the first major evolution of the project occurred. We began using the Blessings in a Backpack distribution numbers to guide the number of school packages and transitioned from travel-sized items to larger hygiene products that would last longer. Due to this change, we discontinued distributing dental items, as Title I schools could obtain those through another donation source.
During the 2021-2022 year, we increased the number of distributed packages to approximately 1,400 for Campbell County School District students and 250 for local community organizations.
As we entered the 2022-2023 Rotary year, we faced two major challenges: rising costs and supply chain issues. To help offset these issues, our board increased the project budget by $1,000. Despite this increase, we still encountered difficulties acquiring supplies, which prompted another evolution in our process.
After meeting with Campbell County School District nurses, we shifted from relying on Blessings in a Backpack numbers to a more direct approach. We created a shared Google document that allowed nurses to order exactly what their students needed. This change enabled us to serve additional schools not classified as Title I but still identified as having a high population of students in need. We also added feminine hygiene products to our distributions due to a reduction in donations from a longtime contributor.
2022-2023 Results:
• 967 hygiene packages delivered
• Nearly 1,500 sticks of deodorant
• 8 lice kits
• 3,600 maxi pads and tampons
• 250 community hygiene packages
2023-2024 Results:
• 507 hygiene bags delivered to local schools
• 100 bottles of shampoo and 100 bars of soap delivered to schools with a pantry
• 842 sticks of deodorant
• 2,832 maxi pads and 720 tampons distributed to both schools and community organizations
• 250 community hygiene packages
2024-2025 Results:
• 673 travel-sized hygiene bags delivered to schools
• 218 bottles of shampoo and 219 bars of soap delivered to schools with a pantry
• 1,542 sticks of deodorant
• 6,648 maxi pads and 5,208 tampons distributed to both schools and communit
organizations
• 250 community hygiene packages
Looking Ahead to 2025-2026:
Our goals for the upcoming year include maintaining our current level of community support, maximizing the impact of our budget, and continuing to let school nurses order items based on the individual needs of their students. We are excited about this efficient and targeted approach to ensuring every student has access to essential hygiene items.
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