Photo by Luke Quezada
Every month, students from SPHS leave the comfort of South Pasadena’s affluence and spend time in the most concentrated center for homelessness in the United States: Skid Row. Junior Madison Saito founded the Feel Full Club this year in order to help combat the homelessness epidemic by providing unique support to the less fortunate. Feel Full Club members collect clothing and other products through donations and work with the Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles to distribute items to those who need it most.
Every month, members meet in Lincoln Heights to sort donations by type, size and gender. They then go to Skid Row to distribute food and clothing to the homeless. The club also recently initiated a new project where they collect feminine hygiene products for homeless women.
“It is an immensely large issue in society where these hygienic products are inaccessible – especially for homeless women. Not even in public bathrooms or locations like Planned Parenthood can provide them with these basic monthly necessities. Feel Full’s goal is to let these women, men, and children gain the dignity and confidence they deserve.” – the Feel Full Club Mission Statement.
The club was able to collect 37 bags of feminine hygiene products to distribute to the women of Skid Row. Feel Full plans on continuing their collection of hygiene products for future events due to their overwhelming success in past distributions.
Students are encouraged to help out regardless of whether or not they are club members. Feel Full wants to spread awareness about the issues that the homeless of Los Angeles face and encourage students to lend their support. The club meets three times a month to discuss upcoming events and logistics and new members are always encouraged to stop by.