New York City · Founded 2023
Everyone deserves a bar of soap that's only theirs.
Skylar's Suds packs and delivers hygiene bags to migrants living in New York's sanctuary shelters, built from shampoo, soap, and lotion samples that would otherwise go to waste.
Contents of one hygiene bag
Why this exists
A shelter isn't stocked like a home.
I started Skylar's Suds in 2023 after seeing how little exists between arriving at a New York sanctuary shelter and having the basic things most of us don't think about: soap that isn't shared with a dozen strangers, a shampoo that's actually yours, lotion for skin cracked from a long journey.
At the same time, I noticed something else: dermatologists' offices across the city sit on drawers full of samples, shampoos, cleansers, moisturizers, and treatments that drug reps leave by the box, most of which never get used and eventually get thrown out.
Skylar's Suds exists to close that gap. We collect what would otherwise be discarded and turn it into something someone can actually use, packed as a hygiene bag and delivered to shelters across the city.
About me
How a tutoring session turned into a nonprofit.
Skylar Borkowsky
Founder, Skylar's Suds
- Senior at Trevor Day School, Manhattan
- Fluent Spanish speaker
- Tutoring in shelters since 9th grade
- Founded Skylar's Suds in 2023
I'm a senior at Trevor Day School in Manhattan. Since ninth grade, I've been going into New York's migrant shelters to tutor kids, help with their homework, and teach them English, using the Spanish I'm fluent in to actually communicate with them from day one.
Spending that much time inside shelters, I started noticing what wasn't there. Families had a bed and a meal, but not the small things that make you feel like a person instead of a case number: a bar of soap that's yours, a shampoo you don't have to share with strangers, lotion for skin that's been through a long, hard journey.
I already knew dermatologists' offices were sitting on drawers of samples that go to waste. That's where the idea for Skylar's Suds came from: take what's overlooked in one place and turn it into something that matters in another. The tutoring is still what started it, and it's still what keeps me showing up.
What we collect
Samples most offices never use twice.
Every bag is built from real inventory: overflow samples donated by dermatology practices, plus items we buy directly when a bag is short.
How it comes together
From a drawer in a dermatologist's office to a shelter shelf.
Collect the overflow
We reach out to dermatology offices and drug reps whose sample stock outpaces what patients take home, and pick up what's left before it's thrown out.
Check and assemble
Every item is checked for expiration and condition, then grouped into complete bags so no one opens theirs to find it's missing something basic.
Bring it to the shelter
Bags go directly to sanctuary shelters housing migrants across New York City, handed off to the people who run intake, not left in a lobby bin.
Working alongside
We don't do this alone.
Sanctuary for Families
Alongside building our own bags, we make recurring donations to Sanctuary for Families, which supports survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and gender violence across New York City.
Where we stand
Honest about where we are.
Skylar's Suds is not yet a recognized 501(c)(3). We filed as an organization in 2023 and are still working through the paperwork to become a formally recognized nonprofit.
That means monetary contributions right now aren't tax-deductible, and we're not yet able to accept them the way an official nonprofit would. What we can use, always, is product: unopened samples, extra inventory, or items nearing their donation window. We'll update this page the moment our status changes.
Get involved
Three ways to help right now.
Donate samples
Run a dermatology office, work as a drug rep, or just have a drawer of unused samples? That's exactly what fills a bag.
Offer a donation →Help pack bags
Sorting and assembling bags happens in small batches. An extra pair of hands means more bags out the door each week.
Ask about packing days →Spread the word
Know a shelter that needs bags, an office with samples to spare, or someone who'd want to help? Point them here.
Get in touch →