The song “The Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book sticks in every child’s mind after they watch it, but Saint Ursula Academy goes further with these bare necessities by holding our annual Personal Care Drive. The PCD collects items such as toothpaste, medicine, makeup, deodorant, and shampoo for that so many live without. This year’s drive is from January 23 to February 3, and we are supporting Lighthouse Youth Services (https://www.lys.org/), Vivian’s Victory (http://viviansvictory.org/), and Churches Active in Northside (CAIN, http://www.cainministry.org/). We as a community are blessed enough to have these everyday products, so this drive helps us to remember the needs of others before our own.

Mrs. Platz, Community Service Learning Coordinator stated that “this collection encourages students to recognize their role as members of a larger community, and is an action step to living the call of Catholic Social Teaching.” When SUA students were asked what they thought the purpose of the Personal Care Drive is, the common theme was giving back to those less fortunate. Emma Murphy ‘19 commented that “the Personal Care Drive allows us to see how much of an impact little things make on others’ lives.” Junior Audrey Felton had similar ideas. “The purpose the Personal Care Drive is to encourage SUA students to generously donate to those who are not as fortunate as the girls who attend school here.” To do this, SUA has many plans, including sophomore Georgia Croci’s idea of: “finding unused travel sized toiletry items around [the] house” to donate to the drive.

Just as Baloo of The Jungle Book teaches Mowgli about the bare necessities of life, this Personal Care Drive teaches SUA students that generosity in giving can make a significant difference in the life of another.