Proper hygiene is important for youths' health, self-esteem and dignity. At Refresh NTX, formerly named Refresh Frisco, the mission is to ensure children in local communities have access to personal hygiene items, such as toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, soap, combs/brushes, shaving cream, personal care products, sunscreen, lip balm and hand sanitizer.
"We can only accomplish this mission with the help of our community," says Elizabeth Watkins, founder and president of the nonprofit. "Donations help us provide students with Refresh Packs filled with full-size hygiene products every three months. Students enrolled in our program receive four hygiene packs per school year."
A standout element of this generosity in every pack are heartfelt, handwritten notes of encouragement from volunteers.
Liz, a Frisco resident, launched Refresh Frisco during May 2019, after seeing the need through her years of parent volunteer work at schools and a local food pantry. She says she's always been inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. comment: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
The group also receives sponsorships and donations from community partners and other organizations, such as CoServ, H-E-B, Preston Trail Community Church and Northwood Woman's Club. Local youth groups, school sports teams and community service organizations also support Refresh by hosting hygiene product drives and volunteering at the warehouse.
To qualify to receive hygiene packs, students must attend Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade in the following school geographies: Frisco ISD; Little Elm ISD; and select schools in Denton ISD, as well as participating private or charter schools. Refresh NTX is currently serving more than 2,300 students each quarter in 100 local schools.
Ways to contribute to Refresh NTX include donating products, providing monetary funding, hosting hygiene product drives and shopping online via the group's Amazon wish list or Walmart Registry for Good List. Refresh Frisco is a registered 501(c)(3), as all donations are tax-deductible.
Drop Off Frisco Locations:
- Refresh Warehouse, 124 Rose Lane, Unit 405, Entrance 2
- Grace Avenue United Methodist Church, 3521 Main St.
- Frisco Family YMCA, 3415 Main St.
- Shaddock Creek Estates, 11000 Yorkshire Lane
- Lone Star Ranch, 5831 Summer Star Lane
- Waterstone, 5932 Myrtle Lane
- Turnbridge Manor, 15078 Daneway Drive
- Edward Jones, 9300 John Hickman Parkway, Ste. 402
- Bay Ridge Estates, 4016 Moonlight Drive
469.269.6966
RefreshNTX.org
"We seek to ensure every child in our communities have access to personal hygiene items."