Manual’s Key Club donated 120 backpacks filled with toiletries and clothing items to provide extra care to the local homeless as part of their Hope and Warmth Project.

The backpacks contained numerous products to help the local homeless community have better health and easier living, such as hair products, nail clippers, deodorant, shaving razors and cream, toothbrushes and toothpaste, sanitary pads, non-perishable foods and winter clothing. The hygiene products will allow them to be less prone to sickness and feel clean, and the clothing, which is going to be used for the winter, will give them an extra layer of warmth.

“After working with the coordinators at the location we were donating to, they felt that we could better distribute our funds by buying more backpacks with better quality items than buying coats and blankets,” said Emma Keeling (12, VA), the president of the Key Club.

The club gave the backpacks to a local chapter of the Volunteers of America (VOA) due to safety concerns.

“The VOA distributed the backpacks at one of their shelters and were thankful for the work our Key Club had put into constructing the backpacks,” said Keeling.

This project created numerous opportunities for Key Club members to serve the community.

“Many members brought in non-perishable food to put into the backpacks, so each backpack contained a water bottle, two granola bars and two packages of peanut butter crackers,” Keeling said.

“The backpacks also raised awareness of the ongoing homeless crisis in our hometown, Louisville, with the club and encouraged club members to pursue similar projects in the future,” Keeling said.

The Key Club is a large group of people who volunteer to help out the community as much as they can. Next year, people can sign up and participate in similar projects to help out the community like this.