The ICU Project home

Current project

Operation Morgan Rd.

Toiletry carts for alternative school students. We're supporting 60 students at our local alternative middle and high school who are facing significant hardship.

Many of these students lack basic hygiene access at home: essentials like toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and access to a washing machine.

Photo to come

A stocked toiletry cart or the holiday gift bags

The ICU Project board kicked off this project with personal donations and an emergency call, making sure every student had a gift bag to take home for the holiday season.

Every donation, big or small, directly supports a student in need. Thank you for helping us bring care, dignity and joy to these young people.

Why it matters

A lack of basic hygiene can hold a student back. When a teenager has to head to school without being able to shower properly or wear clean clothes, they aren't just uncomfortable. They're in survival mode.

Peer-reviewed research shows this creates a cycle of social anxiety and shame that directly affects the brain's ability to focus on schoolwork (Sebert Kuhlmann et al., 2019; Ranasinghe et al., 2016). Instead of listening to a lecture, students are often preoccupied with the fear of being teased by their peers.

The hit to their self-esteem does more than hurt feelings. It leads to chronic absenteeism, as students would rather stay home and fall behind than face the stigma (Hennegan et al., 2016; Ramos-Morcillo et al., 2019). Without these basic essentials, a student is denied a fair shot at both a social life and an education.

Sources

  • Hennegan, J., Dolan, C., Wu, M., Scott, L., & Montgomery, P. (2016). Measuring the prevalence and impact of poor menstrual hygiene management: A quantitative survey of schoolgirls in rural Uganda. BMJ Open, 6(12), e012596. doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012596
  • Ramos-Morcillo, A. J., Moreno-Martínez, F. J., Susarte, A. M. H., Hueso-Montoro, C., & Ruzafa-Martínez, M. (2019). Social determinants of health, the family, and children's personal hygiene: A comparative study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(23), 4713. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234713
  • Ranasinghe, S., Ramesh, S., & Jacobsen, K. H. (2016). Hygiene and mental health among middle school students in India and 11 other countries. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 9(4), 429–435. doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2015.11.007
  • Sebert Kuhlmann, A., Peters Bergquist, E., Danjoint, D., & Wall, L. L. (2019). Unmet menstrual hygiene needs among low-income women. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 133(2), 238–244. doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000003060