Zionsville Youth Creates Homeless Hygienix to Help the Underserved

February/March 2023

Zionsville resident and Park Tudor High School Junior Anastasia Ebersole founded Homeless Hygienix in October of 2022. The nonprofit is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on the personal health of those in need in and around the Indianapolis area who are unable to provide for themselves.

Ebersole shared her goal for the nonprofit, which she has established with the assistance of her board of directors: to improve the awareness of personal health by fundraising money for thoughtfully curated hygiene kits that will be packaged and distributed around the Indianapolis area. Additionally, Ebersole and her board are connecting with and creating partnerships with local area community partners to grow her brand and garner additional support for Homeless Hygienix’s purpose.

A Growing Passion for Service and Leadership

Ebersole is interested in science, specifically biology, and has aspirations of studying and working in the Public Health sector after graduating from high school and college. She is currently working towards her scuba diving certification and is a varsity athlete in both golf and tennis. A fervent community volunteer, Ebersole has volunteered at various local organizations related to her school and church as well as local organizations such as Merciful H.E.L.P. Center, Hunt Club Boarding Kennel and the Hussey Mayfield Memorial Public Library.

“A lot of my volunteer opportunities that I’ve done in the past include giving food out at food pantries,” Ebersole said. “I recognize that [the homeless] are an underprivileged group that don’t always have access to basic necessities. I also recognize how important it is to make sure that they have access to materials such as toothbrushes and toothpaste and things like that.”

Additionally, Ebersole recognizes this as a leadership opportunity outside of her school and church [Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral].

“I was interested in doing a leadership opportunity outside of school, and a friend recommended to me that I start a nonprofit,” Ebersole stated. “That sparked my interest and was something that I’d never done before. I think the idea for Homeless Hygienix goes along with my interest in helping those in need and my interest in public health.”

Advocacy and Fundraising

Along with her fellow board members, Erica Harrison and Dr. Niki Martine, Ebersole is passionate about providing some basic necessities to central Indiana’s growing homeless population in the form of the hygiene kits and is actively fundraising to cover the costs of the basic [hygiene] items that are included in these kits. Once the kits are assembled, they are then distributed to community partners who ensure the kits are put into the hands of people who desperately need them.

Homeless Hygienix is engaging people and local businesses through social media [Facebook and Instagram] and its website. Donations can be made directly through the website, and businesses who are interested in supporting Ebersole and her board’s efforts can contact them directly for more information about the nonprofit’s mission.

Ebersole and her board are grateful to local businesses and organizations that have offered monetary support. These include Sycamore School, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Ladies Philoptochos Society, Gyro Night Committee) and the companies that are currently or will soon be distributing partners: Food4Souls, Outreach (Home for Homeless Youth), CHIP (Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention), Westminster Family and Adult Services and Northwest United Methodist Church.

Homeless Hygienix is looking to host a fundraising event in the near future to bolster its advocacy efforts.

“We’re looking to host a bowling event or maybe a golf outing,” Ebersole shared. “We’re still developing that, but it will be an opportunity for us to invite our friends and people from our [school, church and local] communities to help raise awareness [and] some money — and to have some fun!”

Be sure to follow Homeless Hygienix on Facebook and on Instagram @homeless_hygienix and visit the website at homelesshygienix.com for more information or to make a donation.