Local Congregation Donates Hygiene Kits to Refugees

CARROLLTON, Texas— On the 20th anniversary of the September 11th tragedy, local members of the Coppell Third Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commemorated this day by showing their unity and love for their neighbors by creating 200 hygiene kits for refugees entering the United States in coming weeks.

“This was a great way to teach our kid the importance of that day,” said Lindsey Cox, the Young Women’s President for Coppell Third Ward. “We all want to do something to help, and this is a tangible way to make a difference.”

Church members Annapurna and John Murala came up with the idea to create the kits after spending numerous months aiding family and friends in India. The devastations brought on by the coronavirus impacted them personally. Natives to India, the Murala’s have spent countless hours providing relief and securing supplies to send overseas. They were moved by the recent evacuation of Afghanistan people and searched for a way to serve locally. Using the Just Serve website, justserve.org, they were able to organize a service project and turned to their local congregation to make it happen.

“We started off small with a goal of just 100 hygiene kits, but with time we changed that since we had such a great response,” said John Murala. “The ward did an excellent job of providing the supplies and created the bags in 45 minutes.”

The supplies for the kits included shampoo and washcloths for infants, while adults will receive deodorant, toothbrushes, and other items. Using the gym in the Coppell church building Elder’s Quorum president Cooper Johnson and his wife Shannon Johnson organized the supplies on long tables and created an assembly line of all the items. Volunteers came in the morning grabbed a large plastic bag and collected each item to create a complete kit. The kits were handed off to the Church’s missionaries for packing.

“This is so great; we could have easily done more,” said Jaime Rasmussen, a member of the congregation. “We all want to make a difference and these experiences are so good for our kids and for us. I hope we can do this again.”