Nearly 400 community members came together, August 5-8, to brighten local students’ days by assembling more than 5,100 Shine Bright kits at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.
Thousands of students across the metro are lacking essential hygiene items like soap, shampoo, conditioner and dental products – impacting their health, academics and confidence. Each Shine Bright kit contains the full-sized hygiene items these students need to feel good and succeed in the classroom and in life.
Shine Bright is a partnership between United Way of the Midlands (UWM) (unitedwaymidlands.org), Omaha and Council Bluffs Public Schools, Papillion LaVista Schools, JAG Nebraska and others. With the community’s support, Shine Bright partners distributed the assembled Shine Bright kits to Kindergarten, sixth- and ninth-grade students in need throughout the community and to JAG Nebraska students across the state.
“Many families in our community have to make tough choices with their finances, leaving them without hygiene products like laundry detergent, soap or dental products. We are proud we can help students get the items they need to regain their confidence and ‘shine bright’ in school,” said Shawna Forsberg, president and CEO, UWM.
Shine Bright is possible thanks to Supporting Sponsors: Google, Wells Fargo and the Mid-America Center, along with Community Sponsors: Election Systems & Software, Lincoln Financial Group, Metropolitan Utilities District, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Penske, Wellabe and Werner.
To learn more about Shine Bright and how to get involved, go to UnitedWayMidlands.org/ShineBright.