CLEVELAND, Ohio — Personal hygiene is more important than ever in the era of COVID-19.
As Jowan Smith stands by her 1000 Ties stand at the Cleveland Public Library’s South Brooklyn Branch Location, she reflects on how life has changed in recent months.
“One of my big things is teaching people how to shake hands and now you can’t even shake hands, so it’s like how do we adjust to a new normal and still be able to teach people skills that can help them progress,” Smith said.
Smith is the CEO of 1000 Ties, which helps teach youth life skills, including social skills and job readiness, starting with learning the importance of tying a tie. She’s passing out hygiene bags in support of students heading back to school.
“You know, starting with something as simple as a tie, hygiene is a part of that. All of that is all about your appearance and self love and self care. And that will help you to build your confidence when you’re trying to interview or go out in public and network or do different things. So hygiene is a major part of it.”
The distribution of hygiene kits is taking place at several Cleveland Public Library locations thanks to a grant from MyCom, which stands for “My Commitment, My Community.” It’s a youth advocacy initiative involving several agencies in Cuyahoga County.
This week’s outreach means parents like Kim McGuire can get some much needed supplies for their kids.
“It’s excellent. It’s really good,” said McGuire.
Smith said about 200 hygiene bags were given out on the first day of distribution, and she’s happy to help families in her community.
“People are very appreciative of every and anything that we’ve been able to do for them. So just being able to see the smile on the parents faces, the children’s faces is great, but being able to see the faces is great for being able to see the smile on the parents faces because we know a lot of parents, you know, they’re stressed about basic things,” Smith said. “So being able to, as a parent, help another parent is very rewarding for me.”
