BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A group of seniors started working on a project to help the community, and now local businesses in the area are participating.
Emily Gonzalez came up with the idea to collect beauty products for teens after volunteering at the Open Door Network, an emergency homeless shelter in Kern County for families with children.
"We were there doing crafts with kids, and in my head, I was like, I'm gonna see little kids. And once I got there, I was like, there here are so many teenagers here. And I had the opportunity to talk to a girl that was explaining that she felt like she wanted to feel pretty, and she wanted to have the opportunity to have her own things, like nice makeup, nice hair tools," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez is part of Senior Rep, a program started by Makenzie Beeney, the owner of Makenzie Photography.
"So there's two sides of my senior rep program. I have my seniors that are going through their senior that represent my photography company and kind of advertise for me naturally and organically throughout their senior year. But on the flip side of that, we do monthly meetings, I mentor them, I become available to them, connect them with other local businesses in town, other leaders in the community," Beeney said.
At one of their meetings, the group started to plan how they could help teens.
"And as we brainstormed, we kind of like added on that and did beauty products, hair tools, skincare products, hygiene, products, and now we have started what they are calling the Beauty Bank," Beeney said.
Boxes for the Beauty Bank can be found at different schools and businesses. The owner of Locale Farm to Table Eatery is also accepting donations.
"It just feels special to know that there's a bunch of people out there that care about our community and making a difference and that we could have some part in it in any way, and it's even better that there's other businesses and schools and people that that we're eager to get involved," the owner of Locale Farm to Table Eatery said.
Gonzalez is amazed to see how her idea has turned into a reality.
"It makes me so excited. I'm so happy that students our age are wanting to help other girls and other, they', like, students at their homeschool," Gonzalez said.
Schools accepting donations:
North: Room 48
Highland: Room 5L
Shafter: Room P5
Frontier: Room 1206
Liberty: Room 1106
BHS: Spindt Hall 104
Centennial: Room 903
CTEG: Sports Medicine
Independence: Room 711
BCHS: Rooms 103,107,105
Businesses accepting donations:
Suck It Up!
Nails By Regina
Staples Energy
Locale Farm to Table
Bright Bite at Style Society
Adventist Health Front Desk
Wild N Styled Inside Haberfelde
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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