On Saturday, dozens of volunteers showed up to the San Diego Hillcrest LGBT Center on Centre Street to help organize 500 hygiene kits for homeless and displaced LGBTQIA+ youth. The event was organized by the San Diego Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The nonprofit is one of the largest organizations that focuses on equality for the LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized communities. Amanda Gregory, one of the volunteers, works for US Bank. Gregory has been volunteering at this event for the past six years. According to HRC, LGBTQIA+ youth represent nearly 1,500 of the homeless population in San Diego County. It’s a staggering number that has kept Gregory coming back year after year. “This is why I do that,” Gregory said. “If they don’t have that community, any peace I can be to give them a piece of love, support, anything like that, to know that they matter and that we care.” Each hygiene kit has everyday essentials like toothpaste, a toothbrush, deodorant and lotion, among other items. These kits will be sent to different organizations in San Diego to then be distributed to homeless youth. “This event we’ve been doing for almost 12 years now,” said Jay Henslee, the steering committee member of the San Diego HRC. Henslee is grateful for the friends that he’s made over the years while volunteering his time, but he’s even more grateful for the important work he and his colleagues get to do. “Many of these youth are sometimes ostracized from their families when they come out, and they leave their home with nothing but maybe a backpack,” Henslee said. As part of this event, the San Diego HRC is honoring the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service. To make these donations possible, HRC joined forces with the San Diego Youth Services, Downtown San Diego Partnership, as well as other organizations. “[We] help restore dignity, to show them that someone cares, to show that they’re seen, they’re heard,” Henslee said. It’s not every day that you have the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. That’s why Gregory isn’t taking this chance for granted. “You matter, and we have your back, and we are here for you,” Gregory said.