Glynn County School District Clothing Drive
Authors: Shelby Johns, Jacob McKnight, Bianca Morales, and Terissa Ramos
Faculty Supervisor: Nicole Masano, DNP, RN, CNM, CME
Community Partner: Glynn County School System
Abstract:
On the basis of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, in order for an individual to meet their full potential, they must first and foremost satisfy physiological primal needs such as weather appropriate clothing and cleanliness of the human body. There is a deficiency of knowledge in the community in regards to the importance of clothing and hygiene products in middle school children attending the Glynn County School System and the effect that it has on school performance, attendance and overall human safety. The researchers partnered with Needwood Middle School nurse, The Neighborhood Planning Association (NPA) and four local churches to educate students, parents and the community at large on the importance of students bodily hygiene, school attendance, weather appropriate attire and the need for clothing donations within our community in order to promote health and maintain school attendance. Through partnership of local churches, the researchers were able to drop off donation boxes for a set amount of time to collect clothing as well as hygiene products from community church members to be donated to the Glynn County School System. The NPA granted the researchers a permit to participate in First Friday which allowed for community education and awareness in regards to the importance of clothing donations/hygiene products and how it positively correlates to student attendance and performance especially in schools located in communities of low socioeconomic status. Researches promoted hygiene and health education to students via brochures that are displayed at Needwood Middle School. The researchers concluded the level of education to be primary due to the education provided being momentous in the prevention of decreasing attendance and increasing school performance. The community diagnosis is deficient knowledge in clothing and hygiene which places middle school students at risk for self-care deficit related to environmental and physiological factors leading to low-self esteem, poor self-image, and decreased motivation to succeed in school. The planning included an interview with Laura Cooper, Registered Nurse at Needwood Middle School to gather information on what population of students are at high risk and to plan the development of a brochure with the appropriate information that applied to the targeted area and age of students. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the learning objectives and evaluation of interventions are inconclusive at this time and will assessed upon re-opening of Glynn County School System and its daily activities.
