Kendall Robinson, founder of Love Rolls, was 15 when she participated in a summer youth program - volunteering at a local food pantry partnering with the Atlanta Food Bank.
“The bases of the program was to teach us about homelessness and poverty,” Robinson said. “It was to give us a holistic view of what someone living on or under the poverty line of what their life would be like.”
What began as a simple act of handing out rolls of toilet paper and paper towels, soon took on more meaning.
She learned one man’s story about making a single roll of toilet paper last a month. The gratitude the homeless man expressed in receiving the toilet paper touched her.
“At the end of the youth summit, we were charged with creating and implementing a community service initiative to change our communities for the better,” she said. “I ran a week-long toilet paper drive in 2016. Now it’s 2020 and it’s (obviously) lasted way longer than a week.”
Love Rolls was founded in 2016 and began as a way to provide toilet paper to the homeless communities in Gwinnett County and Atlanta.
“When we first put out the call to ask people if they wanted to donate toilet paper, we got a box of toilet paper on our doorstep every single day for an entire month,” Robinson said. “It felt divine in the way it all came together.”
She reports that Love Rolls has collected over 350,000 rolls and distributed 250,000 rolls.
Robinson, now a sophomore majoring in art and pre-med at Howard University in Washington, D.C., excels beyond academics. She owns her own art business, represents Howard University as a student ambassador and works at Chick-Fil-A.
A million rolls is a goal.
“We are almost halfway there, which is super exciting,” said Robinson. “We’ve made great strides in the life of the organization and I want to continue to push that forward.”
“People ask ‘What are you going to do with art and medical degrees?’ My favorite type of art is portraiture. I would translate that into plastic surgery as a way to incorporate artistry and medicine into one,” she said.
Robinson’s mission trips as a youth instilled in her the importance of medical mission work that she plans on continuing, incorporating Love Rolls wherever she lands.
“I’ve been able to engage in youth empowerment and motivate people to step out of their box to do things to make a difference in the world – that’s been a blessing and also very humbling.”
For more information, visit www.loverolls.org.
Each Sunday we write about a deserving person or charity events such as fun-runs, volunteer projects and other community gatherings that benefit a good cause. To submit a story for us to cover, email us at ajc.doinggood@gmail.com.
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