Cypress students turn surplus medical supplies into first-aid kits for Katy families

By Prayagh Prabhakar, Founder & President, AccessAid

Every day, usable medical supplies are thrown away while families a few miles away go without bandages because a trip to the drugstore doesn’t fit the budget. I started AccessAid to close that gap.

AccessAid is a student-led nonprofit based in Cypress. We collect surplus medical supplies through partners like Medical Bridges, check them for quality, and pack them into first-aid kits with bandages, gauze pads and other basic wound-care items. Then we bring the kits to clinics and community organizations that can get them to the families who need them.

This October, our team brought 150 fully stocked first-aid kits and 1,500 protective masks to Christ Clinic in Katy, a nonprofit clinic that offers free and reduced-fee care to neighbors who need it. We loaded everything into our cars and delivered it to the clinic, so patients can go home with what they need to treat a cut or scrape safely.

Christ Clinic was our eighth distribution since April. Working with partners like Cy-Fair Helping Hands, Cy-Hope, Cypress Assistance Ministries and Abba’s House, we’ve now delivered more than 19,500 supplies with 15 partner organizations across the Houston area. Through Project C.U.R.E., some of those supplies have also reached clinics in Bolivia and Venezuela.

A first-aid kit sounds small. But for a family already stretched by rent, groceries and medicine, having one at home means a minor injury stays minor.

We want to reach even more families in Katy this winter, and we can’t do it alone. Katy residents, businesses, schools and clubs can help by donating first-aid and hygiene supplies, holding a supply drive, giving to our kit fund, or volunteering at a packing day. To get involved, visit https://www.google.com/url?q=http://access-aid.org&source=gmail&ust=1793721365193000&sa=E.