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Getting rid of barriers, community library has basic needs items like clothing and hygiene products

Donating is just as easy as getting what you need.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Imagine not having access to laundry detergent, so you wash your clothing in water. Or having a baby but you can't afford diapers. What about a woman not having access to hygiene products?  It's a reality for so many.

A new community library wants to bridge the gap between those who need, and those who can give.  

It's simple. 

If you have extra, you drop off what you can. Anything, any time.  

If you need it, you just go pick it up. What you need, when you need it, no questions asked.

It's put together by The Supply Hive. The group started the library as a way to feed protestors in the summer of 2020, and they want to continue their mission of mutual aid.

"We don't think about every day how privileged we may be," Zakariyah Hill with The Supply Hive said. "Even if you don't have the material items you want, but if you can put on hygiene products, brush your teeth, leave the house feeling good about yourself, that's more than a lot of people have."

The community library is located at Edna K Davis park near 13th Street and College Avenue in Des Moines. 

Items are flying off the shelf, and that's why they need help.

"More emphasis on hygiene products, essential clothing wrapped up in packages like t-shirt and socks," Hill said. "Hygiene products like conditioner, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, laundry detergent dishwashing soap."

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