Working at Spherical Desk Pizza in Camas, Emily Bishop has discovered in regards to the challenges individuals going through homelessness battle with each day.
“There’s a lot of homeless people that kind of hang out over there,” Bishop stated. “Nine times out of 10, they’re some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Homeless people are people. They deserve to be looked after and to be helped.”
Bishop, a Washougal Excessive College senior, is accumulating donations to place collectively female hygiene kits, which she plans to present to native homeless shelters subsequent spring.
“I’m happy that I get to make change in the community, even if it’s for a short time. I hope it inspires other people to think about how poorly homeless people are treated — especially around here,” Bishop stated.
The kits are a part of her efforts to achieve a Lady Scouts Gold Award, the best achievement within the group. The award is earned by fewer than 6 p.c of eligible senior and ambassador Lady Scouts, in response to the nationwide group.
“It’s a pretty big thing in Girl Scouts to get your Gold Award, especially because so many girls don’t go past elementary school,” Bishop stated.
Bishop stated she hopes her female hygiene kits will encourage different Lady Scouts to consider the day by day struggles homeless individuals expertise.
“I hope to inspire other Girl Scouts to take more steps to help homeless people and just raise awareness about how big of a problem it is,” Bishop stated.
Bishop has been a member of the Washougal Lady Scout Troop 45703 for the previous 10 years.
“I’ve done a lot of community service through Girl Scouts. It’s really opened me up to a lot of opportunities, and it’s helped me see the world in a different way than most teenagers,” she stated.
Bishop determined to make female hygiene kits as a result of homeless individuals can battle with entry.
“Feminine hygiene products are so hard to get a hold of, especially if you don’t have any money, and homeless shelters only get so much. I think that just really drove me,” she stated.
Bishop contacted three organizations for Vancouver homeless in early November. Two responded: the Council for the Homeless and Open Home Ministries.
“I said, ‘Here’s what a Gold Award is. Here’s what I want to do. I want to create feminine hygiene boxes. Roughly how many would you need?’ ” Bishop stated. “They (responded) ‘Whatever you have is great. We’ll take anything.’ After that, I started posting, primarily on Facebook, in community groups. I’d be like, ‘Hey, does anybody have any pads or deodorant or toothpaste or toothbrushes that you’re not using?’ ”
Bishop hopes to have 200 kits by mid-March, and is filling shoe containers with pads, tampons, panty liners, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, compact hair brushes, hair ties, lip balm and lotion.
She is encouraging residents to donate merchandise they have already got or to buy off her Amazon want checklist. She is accepting money donations and providing gift-wrapping companies to lift funds for the venture.
“I had one lady donate 180 toothbrushes; she bought them off Amazon,” Bishop stated. “I’ve had a lot of packages at my door from people buying things off the Amazon wish list. It’s just been really great to see how willing the community is to help.”
Lady Scouts aren’t Bishop’s solely group effort.
She serves because the Washougal Metropolis Council’s scholar consultant in the course of the 2024-25 college 12 months, delivering experiences about Washougal Excessive College actions and offering suggestions on metropolis points throughout council conferences.
“It’s definitely really interesting. I get to see the fun and the boring parts, of course, and how it all works,” stated Bishop, who’s planning to review neuropsychology after commencement. “I didn’t really know much about how the local government worked at all, so I think it’s a great learning opportunity.”