Be SAFE Network Aims To Buy 200 Comfort Kits By New Year's Eve

HERNDON, VA — As of 12 noon on Thursday, The Be SAFE Network had received enough donations to purchase 196 Comfort Kits for the Cornerstones Hypothermia Shelter, which serves Herndon and Reston's homeless population.

This prompted Marybeth Henry, the president and CEO of The Be SAFE Network, to send out an email calling on supporters to donate enough to buy four more kits by New Year's Eve, which would help meet their original goal of purchasing 200 kits.

"I would be so excited to SMASH 200 and just keep on going, so please feel free to donate more!" Henry said, in her email.

All the donations that The SAFE Network receives will be used to pay for personal care kits, which will be distributed to the customers of the Cornerstones hypothermia shelter in Reston. Each kit, which costs $15, includes shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and a toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as warm socks and a hat.

"We do an annual fundraiser every year," Henry told Patch earlier in December. "Last year, we did a fundraiser for food for Food for Neighbors. "This year, with with the expectation of a colder than normal winter, we thought supporting the hypothermia shelter would be a good way to go."

As of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, The Be SAFE Network's PayPal account had already received 33 donations and raised $2,010 toward its $3,000 goal. Even if donations exceed the campaign's original goal, the campaign is scheduled to go on for another 17 days, so the total number of donations could be much higher.

"Our biggest donor so far has been Q2 Impact with 30 kits, and we are so grateful for their support," Henry said, in her email.

Donations to purchase comfort kits can be made to The Be SAFE Network's PayPal account. Email marybeth@besafenetwork.com for more information.