08/17/2026
With the recent flooding and the damage it has caused throughout Muncie, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a part of a community.
Sometimes it’s something big, like community members coming together to help people evacuate their homes. Other times, it’s something as simple as making sure someone impacted by the flooding has food to eat or checking in on your neighbors. It really doesn’t matter how you choose to help. You just have to show up.
As I’ve been thinking about this, I realized August marks one year since I walked into the Common Market with bags of hygiene supplies and a very simple idea: I wanted to help.
At the time, The Hygiene Ladies wasn’t a nonprofit. It wasn’t an organization. There was no network, no board, no partnerships, and honestly, I didn’t even have a plan.
It was just me. A grad student. Who decided to start collecting hygiene supplies from friends and family because I saw a need in our community, and I felt I needed to do my part to help.
And somehow, Mike Martin decided to take a chance on me. Mike didn’t even know me when I first asked. He could have easily said no. Instead, he opened the door and gave me a place to start.
A couple of weeks in, I remember walking into the common market and seeing a line wrapped around the building. That’s when it really hit me. This wasn’t just something I wanted to do. This was something our community needed.
Not long after that, I brought Kim in. We’ve been overwhelmed, but always determined. Every week, somehow and someway, we manage to show up with supplies. Sometimes it’s a last minute donation from a stranger. Sometimes it’s friends and family. Sometimes it’s Kim and I using our own money. But somehow, it always works out. One year later, here we are. A nonprofit. A team. A community of people who believe in this.
The Common Market has been a part of our foundation from the very beginning. We call it our “home base” for a reason. Mike has helped connect us to other organizations, create our first fundraiser, and supported us from the very beginning, even when it was just me. He believed in what I was trying to do before there was anything behind it. I will always be grateful for that.
This past year has taught us so much. We have had to learn how to organize events, fundraise, build partnerships, and keep going even when we’re not sure how we’re going to make the next week happen.
But our biggest priority has never changed. We are here to give dignity and confidence back to our community by making sure people have access to hygiene supplies and health education.
And this past week, we were reminded of just how important it is to be able to show up when our community needs us. Because of how much we have grown, we were able to provide hygiene supplies to one of the emergency shelters that opened for people impacted by the flooding. That means more to me than I can put into words.
Tomorrow, we will be back at the Common Market passing out hygiene supplies. If you or someone you know has been impacted by the flooding, or if you are simply in need of supplies, please come see us. We are here, and we are happy to help.
Thank you Mike for taking a chance on me. Thank you Kimberly for jumping in on this with me. Thank you to our families, friends, donors, volunteers, community partners and every person who has supported us along the way.
I don’t know exactly where The Hygiene Ladies will be a year from now. But I know we’ll keep showing up.
