What began as a simple student initiative to fight waste has grown into a nationwide movement of compassion.

In late 2024, UCLA undergraduates Jaipal Virdi and Yuna Lee witnessed the overwhelming waste plaguing the beauty and self-care industry. As a content creator, Yuna experienced this unsustainability firsthand. Each month, she received more products from PR campaigns than she could possibly use. This excess wasn't unique to her; countless creators faced the same dilemma of overflowing beauty, hygiene, and self-care products with nowhere to go.

Recognizing that there had to be a better way, they founded Kindness Kits. Their solution was elegantly simple: redirect these surplus items from brands and influencers to create thoughtfully curated care packages for women's shelters and other community organizations in need. As a UCLA-founded initiative, we maintain strong ties to our university roots, with all our volunteers being Bruins and associated with our local chapter there.

By transforming unused goods into personalized care kits, Kindness Kits addresses two critical issues simultaneously: reducing waste and empowering individuals to feel clean, confident, and dignified, regardless of their financial circumstances.

To date, we have rescued thousands of dollars worth of beauty products from waste streams and transformed them into care packages that have reached hundreds of women in our community. Our mission continues: spreading kindness, one kit at a time!