THE TEAM SUPPLYING THE MOST FREQUENTLY FORGOTTEN ITEMS

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Bella Carson, Reese Carson and Leila Murena. Read their story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Bella Carson, Reese Carson and Leila Murena may only be in the ninth grade, but they’ve already started a service revolution. The trio first hosted a Thanksgiving food drive in the sixth grade, and they see that experience as a life-changing turning point in their mission to serve others. While at the local food bank, they discovered that new undergarments and feminine hygiene products were some of the most needed items. In that moment, the young women knew their mission was clear. They founded Wundie Undies, a youth-led nonprofit providing clean underwear, feminine hygiene products and diapers.

Three years later, the Wundie Undies team has distributed 10,000 pairs of underwear, 35,000 diapers and 30,000 feminine hygiene products, in addition to raising nearly $10,000. The organization has been so successful that the group created a student ambassador program that allows students at various schools to host drives, expanding their circle to bring in the items that are so desperately needed. Whether they’re coordinating collection drives with partner schools, hosting events or reaching out to potential corporate sponsors, the Wundie Undies team is making a difference in their community, and they’re doing it together.

At just 14 years old, the Wundie Undies team collectively volunteers approximately 75 hours per month, which is no simple task considering their busy high school workloads and extracurricular activities. However, they consider the fact that they work together as a team to be a real asset to the organization’s livelihood, allowing them to share responsibilities and tackle each task as they need to. They consider being able to experience the success of Wundie Undies alongside their best friends to be one of the most unforgettable aspects of their volunteer journey. Through it all, they’ve been able to grow together, support each other, and help their community as a team. What started as a small idea three years ago has blossomed into a testament to the power of just how far service and friendship can go when it’s deeply intertwined.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

Leila: There were a lot of moments that inspired us, but one of the biggest was a Thanksgiving food drive we hosted in sixth grade. It was very successful, and it made us realize how important it is to support your community. Seeing all these donations being placed on the shelves at a local food bank was life-changing for us, and it made us want to do even more. We found out from the food bank that they really needed hygiene products. After that, we did some research and were surprised to learn that feminine hygiene products, underwear and diapers are some of the most needed, but least donated items. We realized that these things we thought were necessities are not available to everyone, and that pushed us to take action and make a difference.

Bella: After some consideration on what we could do, we got in contact with a shelter coordinator that we had worked with before for our Thanksgiving food drive.
Reese: That was our first interaction with community service, and we became very passionate about it. We just wanted to do more, and we found that this was unique. It was very necessary, so we said, why not?

What inspires you to volunteer?

Reese: This issue became very personal to us when we realized that girls our age were missing school because they didn’t have access to feminine hygiene products or clean underwear, and parents were having to make a decision between diapers for their child or dinner on the table. We realized that these items we saw as an expectation were a privilege to many people. It is so important to have them, because they’re not just hygiene products; they are facilitators of confidence, of dignity and of care. Knowing that giving a package of underwear to a family could make a difference in their life really motivates and inspires us.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Wundie Undies.

Bella: Our role involves much more than just collecting donations. We create flyers, organize fundraisers and organize community events. We build our Amazon wish list, and we also communicate with local food bank coordinators to find out who needs these items.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

Leila: Our biggest goal is to build an organization that lasts even after we graduate high school and go into college. We want to build strong relationships with future ambassadors and volunteers, so Wundie Undies can continue helping people in our community for years to come. We are also very focused on fundraising now and learning how to raise money from different places. For example, we are applying for grants from different companies and other charities to increase our funding. We are working on our application to participate in Give Miami Day. We also hope to grow our impact by reaching more communities, hosting bigger drives and continuing to spread awareness about hygiene insecurity.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

Reese: We’ve done so much and we’re so proud of ourselves. In the past three years, we have collected over 80,000 items, and we’ve had the opportunity to distribute them from here in Miami all the way to Los Angeles, where we supported fire relief. We really wish to expand and get better at what we’re doing. However, what I would say, and I hope my partners can agree with me, is that the most rewarding part of this is the fact that we got to do it together, and we always have a team by our sides. There aren’t very many people who get to say they’re making a difference with their best friends by their side.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

Bella: I think we’ve learned the importance of helping our community, of course, but also teamwork. It taught us gratitude, and I feel like we’ve gained a deeper appreciation for these everyday necessities that people take for granted. This experience has made us view service in such a different way and inspires us to continue giving as much as we can.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Reese: There are so many opportunities out there. We started a charity, but that doesn’t have to be what you do. You can volunteer at your local food bank, or you can do a beach cleanup. There are so many ways that you can help your community. Take one of your hobbies and turn it into something meaningful. As long as you have the passion and the drive to make a difference, you can really do anything.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

Bella: I think we just want people to learn how these items that we collect and donate often go overlooked. With food banks, you think of canned goods, but people don’t really take into account the fact that feminine hygiene products, underwear and diapers are also very needed items. We want to get through to people to raise awareness about these items and the need.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Bella, Reese and Leila? Find local volunteer opportunities.