A Borough-based woman is donating deodorant, wipes and other personal care items to local schools whilst helping to educate local teens on hygiene.
Rebecca Johnson, 28, who works in a theatre in central London, is currently on a mission to help ease the pressure on families who struggle to access hygiene products.
She told us the idea for the ‘Refresh Kits’ first came about last year, when a group of young girls visited her workplace and she noticed some of them were showing signs of poor hygiene.
“It made me think back to when I was at school,” she said, “there was a lot of bullying. I even remember a teacher embarrassing one student in front of the whole class by smelling a scarf she was wearing.”
Rebecca, who grew up in Elephant and Castle and now lives in Borough, added that for teenagers, hygiene can be an awkward subject that is not always easy to overcome.
“For me, I was raised by my sister and she would make sure me and my little sister had deodorant, everything we needed,” she explained, “but even then we didn’t know how to change it if we needed to.”
She added it is even harder if families are in poverty, commenting, “Sometimes you do have to wash your uniform during the week – but a lot of families can’t afford to do that, especially at the moment. And some people struggle to access basic hygiene products.”
“So if I can do my bit to help them out, then I want to do that.”
As fate would have it, she explained that her old university, London South Bank, held a competition earlier this year for the chance to win money for an idea.
“I applied but it was over months you had to spend developing your pitch,” she continued, “and during that time I was developing the idea of Refresh Kits.”
She ended up coming second in the competition and won £1,000 to go towards the kits – which also include lip balm and tampons.
“I reached out to my old secondary school – Harris Academy Bermondsey – with the idea to donate the kits to them but the whole Harris Federation reached out and loved the idea.”
Last month she donated the first 100 kits to Harris Girls’ Academy in East Dulwich, on the advice of the Harris Federation. She explained: “They are kept in the Head of Year’s office and students know they are there should they need them. They are in discreet bags as well.”
A spokesperson from Harris Girls’ said staff and students were ‘delighted’ by Rebecca’s donation, commenting: “Students from disadvantaged backgrounds face many barriers to success and Rebecca’s support will help our young women to feel confident to focus on their educational goals and aspirations.”
As well as donating the products Rebecca said she also wants to raise awareness of hygiene poverty and stop ‘hygiene shaming’ in schools. “Kids are not nice when you’re at school.”
According to Rebecca, each one costs around £5 to make, so to help spread the idea further she is currently raising money.
And she said it is not stopping there either. This Friday, she has been invited to attend the House of Lords with Harris Academy, to discuss her give-back program and how to take it further.
She added: “In the new year, I want to take the idea to schools across the country.”
If you’re a business or organisation that wants to get involved by donating products to the initiative, get in touch with Rebecca here.
She is also fundraising for the project here and said she would appreciate any donations from people wanting to keep it going.