Up until this Friday, Student Council will be collecting toiletry supplies for the Austin Street Shelter in Dallas. 

Proposed by senior Pearce Dennen after he visited the center earlier in the year, the project aims to help those in need of common care products. 

“Earlier in the year I took a tour of the center to find out what they needed and they said they used up a lot of their toiletry supplies,” Dennen said. “We created a list of advertisements we were going to make and the week before Thanksgiving break and made the posters and everything so we could start the drive as soon as we got back.”

Items such as toothpaste, soap, and deodorant are encouraged, and can be deposited in the rotunda or in room E100. 

“Even if you aren’t able to volunteer, donating to places like homeless centers helps those who have been struggling during the pandemic,” Dennen said.

For sponsor Kandy Stevens, taking on the idea seemed like a great way to remain involved in the community. 

“We are always looking for outreach programs that we can support, and this makes it easy to do that because we are in a pandemic and can’t get out and go physically do stuff in the community,” Stevens said. “It’s just a really nice jumping off point and the main reason is because of Pearce.”

From the perspective of a student in Frisco ISD, StuCo president Franny Trezza sees giving back as privilege rather than a task. 

“I think it is extremely important to stay involved in our community because we must value all human life,” she said. “Kindness is so moving, but we must keep in mind that serving others can’t be about validating our own good nature but must be about lifting up those around.”