I started Foundation Beauty, my 501 © 3 nonprofit organization in the Spring of 2020. Foundation Beauty’s mission is to facilitate the donation of beauty and hygiene products to underprivileged students. Foundation Beauty does this by partnering with educational nonprofit organizations that serve underprivileged teens, who can not currently afford makeup and personal hygiene products. Donations are in the form of presorted beauty and hygiene kits that contain a blend of makeup, hygiene, skincare, body care, and hair care products for all genders. I have donated thousands of personally sorted beauty and hygiene kits to students across New York City, Long Island, Uganda, Dallas, Springfield, Greenfield, and Northampton areas.
Something Foundation Beauty has always focused on was sustainability. Many donations we receive are products that would otherwise end up in landfills if not donated and are in perfect condition. Because of cost efficiency, all beauty and hygiene products have been packaged into plastic bags. However, this grant money allows me to buy in bulk reusable tote bags that will not only be sustainable but also useful to the recipients who can use the bag much longer than they would be able to with a disposable plastic bag. With the grant money, I also will be able to buy reusable menstrual cups and pads to include in my kits. This will be a great option for including an additional hygiene item for the recipients to use that is not single-use plastic and can last for many years.
So far this summer I have researched and purchased samples of multiple menstrual cups and reusable pads from different companies to test for quality and the most cost-efficient product. Also, I have reached out to several brands and I am in contact with them about trying to get a bulk discount for buying hundreds of reusable sanitary items. I have also bought multiple reusable tote bags and am deciding on which sizes and quality work best for the number of products contained and am doing research on buying a screen printer and screen printing a DEERFIELD X FOUNDATION BEAUTY logo on each bag to commemorate the grant as an activity for the Foundation Beauty @ Deerfield Club in the fall.
Thank you so much to the CSGC office and Workman family for your support of Foundation Beauty! Look out for an update later in the summer!
-Isabelle ’24