Teen nonprofit CEO more than doubles reach of hygiene kit program for NorCal homeless students
SACRAMENTO -- A local teenager and nonprofit CEO is on a mission to make a difference for area high school and middle school students experiencing homelessness.
"I hope it makes them feel loved, that somebody thought about them," said Daysha Trujillo of Plumas Lake in Yuba County.
She spent Monday night with a group of her fellow Jessup University students packing 1,000 hygiene kits for students in need.
"All the essentials you would need in a hygiene kit," Trujillo said of the kits' contents. "Chapstick. Conditioners. A soap bar. Shampoo."
The kits also contain feminine products, socks, toothbrushes, combs and more. They are placed in spots at twelve local schools where anyone who needs it can discreetly take a kit.
Trujillo started the nonprofit Trukidz when she was only 13 years old. The vision was born when a close friend was in need at her Yuba County school, not able to afford small, simple things like hygiene products.
Trujillo decided to change that.
"Just helping that one person dawned the idea of how many other students are in this position and how many students aren't asking for help," she said.
Thousands of Truekidz kits have gone out in the years since. With the 1,000 packed Monday night, the nonprofit will now more than double its reach.
It is expanding from serving seven local school districts to 17.
"How it's grown, it's like my baby. I really do feel like this is my life's calling," said Trujillo.
For all of her teenage years, she has balanced being a student and running a nonprofit -- a feat not many people have accomplished.
"Just to impact this amount of students, and I'm able to do it at this age, I hope to keep doing this, until, forever!" said Trujillo.
She's the first to admit she does not do it without help from sponsors including CSM, Perfectly Posh, Clean the World, Bombas and the Sacramento Kings.
Trujillo also says being a part of the Big 5 Giveback Campaign for Rocklin-based Robert Craig Films means a lot to her as well. The company is producing a documentary and movie titled "No Address" about homelessness that will hit the screen in 2024.
"The work that she is doing is amazing. We know this because in studying for the film we learned that 1.5 million children are homeless across this country," said Jennifer Stolo, CEO of Robert Craig Films.
The company has pledged to donate 50% of its proceeds next year to nonprofits addressing homelessness, Trukidz being one of them.
Stolo helped Trujillo and her team of Jessup University volunteers pack kits Monday night.
"Those that we can come and see locally, knowing we are a local company here in Rocklin, we've been able to really see what these nonprofits are doing firsthand," said Stolo. "The nonprofits we have studied across the United States, it's amazing the services they provide and the ability to actually create solutions across our country. We all think of this as something that is hopeless and it's really not."
Trujillo has a goal for Trukidz of packing 8,000 kits this year, the most in the nonprofit's history.
She is also a freshman at Jessup University studying biochemistry to hopefully become an anesthesiologist one day while continuing her dream of getting Trukidz kits in every school.
For information on how to donate or volunteer, visit the nonprofit's website.