Evidence of Research  

Justification 
Hygiene is defined as the promotion and preservation of health. The maintenance of mental health, social 
health, physical health, and even environmental health all reside under the term “hygiene”. Personal hygiene is a practice 
that everyone participates in on a daily basis. Good hygiene is a powerful barrier to many infectious diseases and it as 
well encourages an overall better well-being (WHO Chapter 8). Hygiene is a necessity for quality of life, and everyone 
should have access to hygiene products no matter their circumstance. This is why we chose to focus on a project that 
involved having the community come together. Through donations, we worked with community outreach programs to 
deliver hygiene products to those in need within our community.  
Through our research, we discovered that the Beaverton School District held the highest number of homeless 
students in Oregon, ranging from elementary to high school. In 2017, 1,522 students in Beaverton reported themselves 
as homeless, stating that they relied on many distribution centers for support (HomePlate). These young children and 
teens in the midst of developing are the most susceptible to poor hygiene, even in cases that don’t involve homelessness. 
However, those who experience homelessness face extreme challenges when it comes to personal hygiene and care. 
People who live in these cases of survival prioritize necessities such as food or clothing instead of working to maintain 
cleanliness because it’s simply just not as important. Hygiene is now a luxury, but even though the barriers associated 
with personal hygiene can increase the risk of disease, homeless people are still receiving very little attention 
surrounding this issue (NCBI). 
We wanted to focus our project on the students. The “Hygiene Drive” will run for three weeks to collect various 
hygiene products in three categories: skin care, hair care, and oral care. It is important that we compose our campaign in 
an appropriate way that does not alter the message of this project. Hygiene can be a sensitive topic, especially for teens, 
who experience challenges with hygiene everyday. Making teens our target group would bring us the most success in 
this drive because we would be able to promote and communicate the best to teens, especially since we are teens 
ourselves. This campaign would promote the students-helping-students notion. Using eye-catching posters, portable 
donation cans, and social media, the Hygiene Drive would be well advertised. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Organizations  
❖ Community Action Family Shelter: Hillsboro  
Community Action Family Shelter is a lead partner of a three-shelter network in Washington County. 
They provide food boxes, housing, homeless services for families around the Washington County area. Their 
passions lies within their mission of, “...​leading the way to eliminate conditions of poverty and create 
opportunities for people and communities to thrive.”​ In addition to these shelter services, Community Action 
Family Shelter also provides programs such as “Head Start”, which gives low income children access to 
affordable education in school and skills in life; including options for those who have special needs​.​ ​Early Head 
Start promotes physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development of infants, supporting positive 
parent-child relationships. If there are difficulties that arise, Community Action Family Shelter has 
opportunities that provide convenience such as “Family Development”. Family development is an over the phone 
assessment that helps connect families to resources that they need, such as home visiting case management 
or housing options that increase the stability of families. In cases where families are struggling financially to 
handle the house bills, the Community Action Family Center also gets involved to help reduce the costs and 
recommending alternatives that save energy.  
 
❖ HomePlate Youth Services: Beaverton  
HomePlate Youth Services is a non-profit drop-in center that aims to support the positive 
development of young people and local families who have experienced homelessness or housing instability in 
Washington County. Many of those who are supported by HomePlate do not appear any different compared to 
the average, middle class in the area. “​Some of the youth we see are working, going to school, or raising 
families...the youth we meet are living with physical or mental challenges, addiction, legal histories, and 
negative family influences. They are all unique” (Home-Plate, 2018). These individuals need far more than 
financial resources but instead provide supportive and social networking, opportunities that allow youth to 
thrive and succeed, which is essential for communities to progress to a higher level of social security. 
Home-Plate advocates and supports young people by providing ​servant hospitality and open and honest 
communication - with the support of community building, education, access to services and resources, and 
youth empowerment to recover those living in poverty or other social needs.  
On February 20, 2018, Fox 12 Oregon News, shares that the Beaverton School District “...has the 
highest number of homeless students in the state...according to a Department of Education reports.” As a big 
part of HomePlate, HomePlate tries to help is through outreach. Bridget Calfee, who is the executive director 
of HomePlate Youth Services in Beaverton, adds that she has helped over 400 youth in the past year. Lead 
Outreach Worker Bianeth Valdez describes, “We walk around the streets of Washington County and try to meet 
young people where they’re at...Employees [of HomePlate] always walk in teams of two. They wear bright 
green backpacks as a way to let kids know who they are” These workers “...go to transit centers, parkers, 
libraries, anywhere young people congregate...in a public place...but we don’t approach them in a private place” 
The purpose of reaching out to youth between the ages of 12 and 24 is so that they are able to find stability 
and other support systems at HomePlate’s drop center in Beaverton, to get food or to shower in the area. 
HomePlate takes in account to provide a home for young individuals who are need of accessing these kind of 
resources to meet the psychological needs of warmth, safety, and security.  
 
Comparing Prices (since February 25th): 
*Prices listed below is at its lowest possible cost  
 

Item  Fred Meyer  Target  Walmart  WinCo Foods 

Body lotion   $2.99+   $0.99+  $1.97+  $1.98+ 

Body wash  $1.99+  $2.39+  $1.88+  $2.10 

Conditioner  $1.99+  $0.99+  $1.94+  $0.88+ 

Deodorant   $1.59+  $0.99+  $1.50+  $1.50+ 

Floss  $1.09+  $0.99+  $1.96+  $1.01+ 

Hairbrush  $2.99+  $2.69+  $3.88+  $2.24+ 

Hair bands  $0.99+  $0.69+  $0.99+  $3.48+ 

Hair clips  $1.99+  $2.44+  $1.39+  $1.19+ 

Hair ties  $2.99+  $1.99+  $2.17+  $1.58+ 

Hand lotion   $0.99+  $0.99+  $1.97+  $1.98+ 

Hand sanitizer   $1.99+  $0.89+  $0.89+  $0.98+ 

Hand warmers   $1.49+  $3.49+  $1.86+  N/A 

Individually-wrapped beef jerky   $1.25+  $0.84+  $1.74+  $1.04+ 

Menstrual Products  $3.29+  $3.29+  $1.97+  $3.57+ 

Razors  $2.99+  $3.69+  $2.97+  $1.88+ 

Shampoo  $1.99+  $0.99+  $1.94+  $1.28+ 

Shaving Cream   $1.99+  $1.49+  $1.36+  $2.88+ 

Socks   $8.99+  $1.50+  $4.99+  N/A 

Water bottles (24pk)  $1.99+  $2.99+  $3.98+  $2.48 

Toothbrush  $1.19+  $0.99+  $3.98+  $0.85 

Toothpaste  $1.69+  $0.99+  $1.67+  $0.45 

 
❖ Other 
➢ Flyers  
■ $0.00 in B&W (Copy machine) (50)  
■ $0.00 for colored ink (Ms.Carnes class) (25) 
➢ Gift Cards 
■ $15.00/each x 4 gift cards = $60.00 
➢ Plastic Storage Bins 
■ $5.00 (on sale from $7.99) - Target  
 
Works Cited 
“What We Do” ​Community Action Family Center​, www. caowash.org/what_we_do/ 
“Mission.” ​HomePlate Youth Services​, www.homeplateyouth.org/mission-and-vision/.  
“The Need.” ​HomePlate Youth Services​, www.homeplateyouth.org/need/.  
“Beaverton School District Sees the Highest Number of Homeless Teens.” ​Portland, OR News, Weather, Traffic, Sports​, 
19 Feb. 2018, www.kptv.com/story/37541829/beaverton-school-district-sees-the-highest-number-of-homeless-teens 
“Personal, domestic and community hygiene.” ​World Health Organization​, 
www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/settings/hvchap8.pdf 
“Promoting hygiene.” ​World Health Organization.​ ​www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/settings/hvchap9.pdf 
“Personal Hygiene Practices among Urban Homeless Persons in Boston, MA.” NCBI. 
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5580630/