Thanks to the generosity of our community, we can provide for the needs of hygiene insecure neighbors. Providing daily essentials to those who struggle to afford them reduces absenteeism, illness and disease, improves self-esteem and confidence, and promotes overall well-being. In October, we provided over 20,000 hygiene items to a dozen nonprofits in our community. Schools, food shelves, housing providers, health clinics and refugee support services distribute these items to their students, shoppers, residents, and patients to amplify the learning, nourishing, housing and healing of those they serve. We are grateful for our partners and the work that they do each day. Together, we create thriving communities. #supportmorebasicneeds #hygieneisabasicneed #hygiene4all
Bridge to Basics
Non-profit Organizations
First hygiene bank in the Twin Cities. Let’s bridge the hygiene gap together.
About us
What We Do Bridge to Basics is working to address hygiene insecurity as the only hygiene bank in the Twin Cities. We are a nonprofit that is uniquely focused on creating a supply chain of personal hygiene products and making them available to nonprofits in our community for distribution. We are propping up our nonprofit partners who are being asked and tasked to give their time and resources to meet these needs, but are clearly outside of their missions. Our nonprofit partners range from schools to food shelves. They place orders of hygiene items based on neighbors served and we supply that inventory. Our goal is to allow nonprofits to maximize their impacts by staying mission-focused and our neighbors to thrive by ensuring their physical and emotional dignity. This is Why Did you know that 1 in 3 low-income neighbors experience hygiene poverty? And that daily essentials like soap, shampoo and laundry detergent cannot be purchased using SNAP, WIC or other government program dollars? Can you imagine having to go without these basics as you start or end your day? Who We Are Bridge to Basics is a new nonprofit launched in 2024 to uniquely address hygiene poverty and support our nonprofit community. Bridge to Basics exists to supply a network of local nonprofits - from schools to food shelves – with the hygiene products requested by struggling neighbors. By providing hygiene products, the hygiene bank empowers nonprofits to focus on their core missions, ultimately amplifying their impact and meeting the essential personal care needs of the people they serve, promoting dignity and well-being. Together, we are building a thriving community where neighbors have access to care, comfort and dignity. Learn how to help here. Our Vision: Everyone should have access to daily essentials to show up for school, work and community life with care, comfort and dignity.
- Website
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www.bridgetobasics.org
External link for Bridge to Basics
- Industry
- Non-profit Organizations
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2024
Employees at Bridge to Basics
Updates
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Early giving is live! As #Minnesota comes together to celebrate generosity, we are asking for your support to stock the shelves. Your gift provides struggling neighbors with daily essentials like menstrual products, diapers, incontinence, laundry detergent, toilet paper and body, hair and oral care items. #Hygieneinsecurity and #foodinsecurity go hand-in-hand. Your gift supports a network of nonprofits working together to give students, patients, individuals, families and seniors the care, comfort and dignity they deserve to start and end their day. Visit https://lnkd.in/g2uPufqg and be the bridge to more #basicneeds. #gtmd24 #hygiene4all
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This week we experienced an amazing gift. Bell Bank Woodbury hosted a hygiene drive for us as they celebrated their 10th anniversary. This gift of support and amplification of our mission was incredibly meaningful. Then this happened. A community member recognized us and made a significant donation at the bank. 💓 Then this happened. Bell team members stepped up to match and >>Pay it Forward>> In addition to two large barrels OVERFLOWING with personal care items, Bell donated $2,250 to help make hygiene more accessible to neighbors struggling to afford these daily essentials. There are so many reasons to feel grateful — from the initial hygiene drive and its donors, to the incredible generosity of an individual to the compounding gift of Bell employees. We are so fortunate to have a wonderful team of truly good people at Bell championing our work and personally engaging every step of our journey. Thank you, Bell Woodbury team for your advocacy, support and relationship-focused banking. You truly are our partners in creating thriving communities. #hygiene4all
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In partnership with our nonprofit network, we work to support more basic needs of struggling neighbors. We help food shelves stock their shelves, schools fill hygiene closets, social workers distribute personal care items, housing providers create essentials storage rooms and refugee services make welcome care bags for new neighbors. Our work compliments -- and amplifies -- the feeding, teaching, healing, housing, and nurturing of our nonprofit partners. Together, we create thriving communities. #hygiene4all
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Thank you to CPC - Colder Products Company for leaning into the issue of hygiene insecurity. During their Global Tech Summit, the team built hundreds of hygiene kits for unhoused and housing insecure students, individuals and families. 🙌 🙌 Thank you so much, CPC! We appreciate your support and will be getting the kits out this month. cc: Bryan Rogers thanks for your patience with taking the photo and help loading the vehicle!
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#NationalHygieneWeek and #HygieneInsecurityWeek just so happens to coincide with the end of our inaugural tax year. Thanks to the generosity of individuals, businesses, foundations and community organizations, we have begun to make strides in addressing #hygieneinsecurity in our community. Since May 2024, we have been able to: 🤝 Support 12 nonprofit organizations with hygiene items 🧴Provide 45,175 hygiene items to struggling students, individuals and families 💗Amplify the impact of nonprofits by allowing them to stay mission focused In partnership with our nonprofit network, we work tirelessly with energy, passion and drive toward our vision: Everyone has access to essential hygiene products, empowering healthy and thriving individuals, families and communities. #Hygiene4all 🫶 Join us today at https://lnkd.in/gWRRYdQX 🫶 Together, we create thriving communities Open Cupboard BASIC NEEDS INC OF SOUTH WASHINGTON COUNTY SoWashCo CARES Neighbors, Inc. Solid Ground MN Project REACH & Fostering Connections (SPPS) EXPO Elementary (SPPS) Kenwood Elementary (MPS) Friends in Need Food Shelf The H.O.P.E. Project Community Blessings Lutheran Social Service Refugee Services
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Did you know that more than 1 in 10 food shelf shoppers miss school, work or an activity because they don’t have hygiene items like body wash, laundry detergent or period products? Absenteeism due to hygiene insecurity was shared by 12% of Open Cupboard shoppers in a recent survey. Each month, 12% shared they missed school, work or an activity because they don’t have hygiene items. (Yes, we are repeating ourselves so that this sinks in.) While this week is #NationalHygieneWeek, every day we should be working to support more basic hygiene needs of struggling neighbors to create a thriving community where folks are present, healthy and comfortable. #hygieneishealth #Hygiene4all #HygieneInsecurityWeek
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Feeding America did a deep dive into #hygieneinsecurity in 2012 and found that 58% of respondents bought less food to be able to purchase hygiene items like laundry detergent and personal care items. Our recent survey with Open Cupboard shoppers echoed this same tradeoff of purchasing less food in order to buy hygiene essentials for themselves and their families. With hygiene insecurity going hand-in-hand with food insecurity, this #HygieneInsecurityWeek find out how you can help by visiting https://lnkd.in/g2uytmhZ
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Hygiene is health. “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” World Health Organization We have heard from social workers, educators, health care coordinators, family advocates and other professionals about the importance of personal hygiene - as #NationalHygieneWeek communications highlight. Access to these daily essentials allows people to start and end their day physically, emotionally and socially empowered to be a student, employee and community member — ready to be and give their best. With the high costs of hygiene items, the inability to purchase essentials like deodorant and body wash with SNAP, WIC or other benefit program dollars and the lack of access for struggling individuals from social service organizations to these items, we have a hidden crisis of #hygieneinsecurity. This #HygieneInsecurityWeek, remember it takes all of us to support more basic needs when resources and support services are limited for struggling neighbors. #Hygiene4all
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