Vending a Hand at Gulfport High

A group of passionate students at Gulfport High School are gaining national attention for their approach using STEM skills to transform a simple snack machine into something to provide essential items to those in need.
It’s part of Samsung’s National Solve for Tomorrow Contest. The students have already earned the school $25,000 just for presenting their plan for the project.
School can be tough enough, but what if you don’t even know if you’ll have a safe place to sleep when classes are over? That’s the case for at least 143 students who are homeless in the Gulfport School District. Gulfport High senior Patrick Camacho said, “It must be really tough because nobody knows but the student and they have to try to fit in with everybody else.”
These Gulfport High School students are working to ‘vend a hand’, transforming an old vending machine into a solar powered way for homeless students to have access to essential hygiene products like toothpaste, soap, shampoo and more, with hopes of adding an attached shower stall. Gulfport High senior Jendayi London said, “The only organizations that allow them to shower their hours are between school hours so a homeless student would have to miss school to take a shower. We decided that we want the vending machine to be available 24 hours.”
Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Gulfport High School is now one of 51 schools nationwide vying for one of ten spots to pitch their idea live in New York in front of a panel of judges in the next step of this contest.
The vending machine was donated by Allen Beverages. It is retired from selling goodies and snacks and will soon vend toiletries and other personal hygiene items at no cost to the students who need it most. Gulfport High senior Ashley Brock said, “We’re going to create some special coin or token for us that we can distribute throughout our community and to local school counselors because we have a few students that our counselors know of who can greatly benefit from this machine.”
The students have partnered with local nonprofit The Nourishing Place to make sure this project comes to fruition in the most effective way. “I really hope that this goes beyond this project to inspire others to do something like this. If a group of high schoolers can construct something to help others, anybody else can do it,” said Camacho.
Some local businesses have already reached out to donate items to include in the vending machine. If you’re like to help visit generosity.com and search ‘vending a hand.’