Throughout the month of March, Presbyterian Foundation employees donated items to create hygiene kits for those affected by natural disasters – and the results were impressive.

The Foundation hoped to collect 225 items in honor of its 225^th anniversary. Instead, more than 2,250 items were collected, more than 10 times what anyone expected.

This collection consists of:

• 116 bars of soap
• 1255 band-aids
• 150 nail clippers
• 250 gallon plastic bags
• 90 wash cloths and hand towels
• 121 combs
• 304 toothbrushes

The items were collected by Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, and were assembled into hygiene kits by volunteers at Beulah Presbyterian Church in Louisville. The hygiene kits are distributed by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance following natural disasters around the world.

“Our plan is to hold four collections for different non-profits during 2024 to celebrate our 225^th anniversary, collecting 225 items each time,” says Robyn Davis Sekula, Vice President of Communications and Marketing at the Presbyterian Foundation. “I was astounded as items continued to roll in, and we were over that threshold with the first two donations. Our staff is incredibly compassionate and always seeking opportunities to reach out into our communities, and I’m so grateful to them for this outstanding generosity.”

Emily Odom of Presbyterian News Service wrote a story about the presbytery-wide effort, and you can read that story here.

More collections will be held later this year at the Foundation.