Huguenot Memorial Church hosted Family Service Night on Wednesday, a quarterly event that brings families together to do work to benefit local charities.

“Tonight, we’re going to make toiletry kits, and these toiletry kits will go to people who are homeless and use a local shower program in the Bronx,” said Associate Pastor Jacob Bolton. “That program is called POTS, Part Of The Solution, and we have been partnering with POTS for over a decade.”

The event started at around 5:30 p.m. with bags of toiletries all over the room. By 5:45 p.m., two tables and some space in the corner were covered in bags. The adults and their children took everything out of the bags and then took a dinner break.

“It gives families of any definition the opportunity to come together here at the church with other families of any definition,” said Bolton. “It could be just a brother or a sister. You eat, mingle, communicate with everyone, share some supper, engage with one another in conversation, and then actually do a service project, a hands-on service project that will really meet an immediate need of a community close by.”

Ziplock bags were turned into toiletry kits as volunteers put in toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, shampoo, conditioner and other necessities for taking a shower and shaving. There were an estimated 40 bags prepared for POTS.

Toiletry kits aren’t the only projects over the course of the year.

Family Service Night organizer Julie Fair gave a few examples of things that are collected for charities. “January is (when we collect things for) the animal shelter,” she said. “Then in February, we collect soccer balls, and they go to a charity called Kicks for Nicks, and the balls are picked up by servicemen and then are distributed all over the world to kids that don’t have them.”

The toiletry kits will be driven by either Fair or Bolton to POTS.