How a one-time donation turned into a weekly hygiene products program for local students
What began as a one-time donation has boomed into a weekly hygiene products program, serving Philipsburg-Osceola and West Branch area school district students one “Little Bag of Sunshine” at a time.
With the goal to send kids home from school each week with personal hygiene products such as shampoo, conditioner, soap and deodorant, Little Bag of Sunshine was founded by sisters Shawna Cassick and Angela Michaels in 2018. After realizing they had too many unused Ipsy bags — a monthly makeup subscription service — Cassick said she planned to pack them with products to drop off in State College for the homeless.
But Michaels, a P-O high school teacher, thought the district’s students could benefit from the donation.
“We thought that we would just do it as a one-time-thing and just fill the bags with hygiene supplies and that would be it,” Cassick said, adding that they donated 33 bags to P-O that first time. “I made a little Facebook post, telling people if they had any of these Ipsy bags lying around to let me know.”
Overnight, Cassick said the post grew into a Facebook page with more than 100 likes. Eventually, Little Bag of Sunshine partnered with the YMCA Backpack Program, sending participants home with both food and hygiene products.
“It was so needed that our one-time-thing really just blew up — like exploded,” Cassick said. “There was so much interest and need that we decided we needed to keep moving forward with it.”
This year, Little Bag of Sunshine serves 141 students between P-O and West Branch.
“It grows every single year,” Cassick said. “We don’t know the students. We don’t know their names. We just know if it’s a boy or a girl, and then we pack up the bags.”
P-O Superintendent Gregg Paladina said Cassick and Michaels started the program “out of the goodness of their hearts” and that Little Bag of Sunshine has had a positive effect on the students.
“It’s amazing that we have such wonderful teachers devoted to the well-being of our students in our district,” he said. “Our people provide care for a quarter of our student body. It’s truly an amazing story. They’re angels in my opinion.”
West Branch Superintendent Michelle Dutrow echoed Paladina’s sentiments.
“We appreciate the kindness of this family to provide in a unique way for the young people of our community,” Dutrow said.
Community support has been “absolutely amazing,” Cassick, who stores all the donations in her basement, said. Enlisting the help of her sister, mother, children and volunteers, Cassick said she packs the bags on the weekends and in spare time during the week.
“We feel like both for the community and for the students who are receiving these bags, it’s just been really positive all around,” Cassick said. “We really hope that by them having the products that they need to be able to clean themselves ... that hopefully, those small gestures will help them to feel better about themselves, do better in school.”
Although students who participate in the program might need help right now, Cassick said she hopes Little Bag of Sunshine encourages them to help someone in the future. Other Centre County schools have asked if Little Bag of Sunshine could incorporate them into its weekly routine, but Cassick said she is limited in supplies, volunteers and time. One day, she hopes to take Little Bag of Sunshine statewide.
“Every little bit helps,” Cassick said. “We want to really encourage people to pass on good things.”
A mother of two, Cassick said she has included her 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son in the packing process since the project’s inception. Cassick said her daughter is able to talk about the program and its goals.
“I want to teach my children how to be good people,” Cassick said. “It could be the littlest thing that makes somebody’s day, and we don’t know what other kids are going through. They’re fortunate to have what they need, and I was fortunate to have what I needed from my parents while growing up, but not everybody has that.”
Anyone interested in donating hygiene products can drop them off at Revived & Company, Best Buds Flowers and Gifts, Hair Impressions by Melissa, Mt. View Market Place, Holt Memorial Library and The Painting Broad. More information on the Little Bag of Sunshine and upcoming fundraisers can be found by visiting the project’s Facebook page.
This story was originally published October 10, 2019 at 7:16 AM.
