Give to Refresh

By Jade Collis

Bucks New University and Bucks Students’ Union tackle hygiene poverty. On the Thursday 20 February, Give to Refresh was launched! This is a joint project with the University to address and tackle hygiene poverty. Since the launch of Give to Refresh we have received 886 donations. We are so thankful to all students, staff and the community who have donated. Not heard of give to refresh? Read on to find out exactly what this project is and how you can help from your own home! Give to Refresh is working with the organisation Beauty Bank - since 2017, they have been helping women and men living in poverty. They provide personal care and hygiene products to registered charities including; food banks, homeless centres, refuges, and secondary schools. The Give to Refresh initiative is powered by our belief that being clean is a basic human right, not a luxury or privilege. We have drop off points for any donations at gateway reception, both Students’ Union campuses and Aylesbury. Although currently you cannot drop off your donations, there is something you can do while at home: start collecting your items! If you are finding yourselves spring cleaning to keep busy, why not keep your eyes out for any unused and unwanted products? Things that could be included: • Body moistures • Face wash • Body wash • Shampoo and Conditioner • Unused/unopened mascara. Anything that you come across while cleaning, why not keep and donate to Give to Refresh rather than throwing it away and letting everything end up in landfill unnecessarily. If you find any donations while spring cleaning be sure to let the Union know on our social media but using the hashtag #BucskGivestoRefresh and #Bucksathome! Your donations will make a huge difference to organisations that need it so get involved if you can! Please feel free to contact jade.collis@bucks.ac.uk for further information on Give to Refresh. Fun Fact: we are the first Union/University in London and the south (and only the second in England) to set up a Beauty Bank public donation point so local people can get involved too! So spread the word using the hashtags above to see how many more donations we can collect during this time.