When members of the Rugby congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints found that the Rugby Foodbank was in urgent need of toothpaste, it didn’t take very long for them to launch "Operation Smile". Organising themselves for this spontaneous charitable endeavour, the members soon collected over 100 tubes of toothpaste to donate to this worthy cause. Kambria Layman, aged 12 said, “I enjoyed doing the service activity because I love helping people. I know that if I needed these supplies I would be very happy to receive them. It makes me happy knowing I have given someone things that they need.”
In response, Diana Mansell, the Chair of Rugby Foodbank, said, “I am very grateful to members of the Church for organising this collection which is very much appreciated. Rugby Foodbank’s primary role is to provide emergency food to locals in a crisis, but we have noticed that toiletries, including toothpaste, are both necessary and appreciated by our clients. Operation Smile is a great initiative and will certainly bring a smile to many people in the next few months. Our website is regularly updated with things we are short of so I would encourage everyone to have a look and see if you too could help with our shortages.”