Locker provides personal items for students in need
Eden Risse |
Have you walked through the basement of Bennett Campus Center and noticed a locker?
If so, you have discovered the source of basic needs for students known as the Lipscomb hygiene locker.
This locker was started a couple of years ago by student care coordinators in the Office of Student Life to provide basic hygiene products to the student body at Lipscomb. It is a donation-based locker filled with basic hygiene items like deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, detergent, lip balm and a few other odds and ends.
These products are for students who may not have access to them at home or for those who don’t have the financial means to purchase them. This includes undergraduate, graduate and commuter students. The locker was strategically placed in Bennett Campus Center in the basement stairwell because this building is never closed, and the stairwell provides an element of privacy to students who are using the locker, says Laura Thorson, one of the student care coordinators
“We really want to reduce those barriers that students face, and we know that that’s not just academic barriers. It’s not just mental health barriers. Sometimes it’s financial barriers that cause them to not have access to things that a lot of us would think are basic necessity items,” she explains. “We never want that to hinder a student's ability to be able to go into the classroom. We don’t want that to limit them, and we don’t want them to feel shame.”
“Asking for hygiene products may be difficult or feel embarrassing, but through this locker, students can get what they need without embarrassment. By providing these resources to our students, we are helping to reduce that barrier,” continues Thorson. “That is helping to reduce that shame so that they can feel connected to other people and other students on campus and continue to be successful in the classroom, too.”
The locker is stocked on a weekly basis, so it is never empty. Student care coordinator information is posted on the outside of the locker for students who have questions, concerns or need an item is not available in the locker. Information about the hygiene locker is listed on Lipscomb’s website under student care coordination resources, and is promoted in the Have you Herd emails that are sent out to the student body each week. So far, Thorson says the locker has been a valuable resource for our students.
“Every student deserves to have basic hygiene products. If you find yourself struggling to obtain any of these items, we encourage students to come down to the basement stairwell area where the locker is located and pick out what you need. This area is secluded so you can grab things anonymously,” says Thorson. “You don’t have to worry or be embarrassed if you do need to grab something from the locker.” The mission of the student care coordinator team is to reduce the barriers that students face academically, mentally and financially.
Those wanting to contribute to the hygiene locker have several options. At the start of each semester, staff are asked to donate. The student care coordinators have created an Amazon wishlist for the most used items. Some of these include toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant. “We had a great outpouring of support right at the start of the semester that really set us up for success this semester to have a large stock of different items to be able to pull from,” says Thorson.
Students can get involved, too. Student drives are held each semester during which students can donate money or unused items directly to the locker. Thorson says that they are always looking for more ways to get the students involved and encourage students to consider a residence hall or student organization drive to raise money to purchase items for the locker or to donate items.
For more information, contact Thorson at laura.thorson [at] lipscomb.edu (laura[dot]thorson[at]lipscomb[dot]edu).