Atlanta Man Living at a Doughnut Shop to Help Give Underprivileged Kids Access to Essential Hygiene Products

 

Johari Dozier

Screenshot: 11 Alive

You know, instead of dunking on white mess, why don’t we feel good and focus on some Black positivity instead? For example, a Black man in Atlanta has been working to give underprivileged kids access to essential hygiene products.

According to 11 Alive, Johari Dozier has been living at a Sublime Doughnuts location in Atlanta as a part of his Clean Cargo Project. Dozier started the project two years ago after his cousin who works for Fulton County schools told him that a large number of students couldn’t afford basic hygiene items.

Dozier has been doing his part for the last two years to help, converting large trash cans into mobile hygiene closets. The Clean Cargo Project fills the cans with donated items, such as toothbrushes, deodorant, and feminine supplies, and delivers them to schools across the city.

“We service Title I elementary schools, which is 40 percent below the poverty level,” Dozier told 11 Alive. “We just want to make sure they have everything they need.”

Dozier partnered with Sublime Doughnuts this month for his latest effort, which is to fill 16 cans with essential hygiene products and deliver them to the 16 learning pods that have been established throughout Atlanta. The pods provide access to laptops and wi-fi for students who otherwise wouldn’t have access at home.

As I mentioned earlier, Dozier isn’t simply operating the fundraiser from the doughnut shop, but he’s living there; staying all day, and sleeping there through the night.

“I had six trash cans that were [sic] already filled and ready to go. I knew I needed 10 trash cans to finish what I’m doing with the City of Atlanta’s learning pods,” Dozier told 11 Alive. “I kind of pitched it to the owner and he said, ‘You’re crazy, but let’s do it’ and I said, ‘Yes, I’m not leaving until all 10 trash cans are full.”

Dozier is only three cans away from completing his goal. In addition to allowing kids to properly clean up and get ready for school, Dozier added that simple items like these can help stop a child from being bullied. “A lot of different bullying and different things goes on,” Dozier told 11 Alive. “So you don’t feel teased or picked on because you have hygiene issues and you can feel good.”

I mean, he’s not wrong. Kids are assholes. I know this both from my prior experience of being a kid, and from hearing some of the incredibly creative, surprisingly brutal bullying the neighbor kids spew at one another while walking my pup.

So! If you want to make sure a kid has all they need to properly start the day, and one less reason to be bullied, check out the Clean Cargo Project to figure out how. It’s been an awful year, and the holiday season is set to be especially rough, but that’s even more reason to try and do some good if you’re able to.