Correspondent photo / Sean Barron ... Suzanne Barbati assembles hygiene kits at the AAUW event. She also was honored as an outstanding leader.

BOARDMAN — Everyone knows that Valentine’s Day’s main appeals include loving and romantic gestures toward significant others, and in a few months, the special day also will be one of heartfelt loving acts toward others.

“I think it’s necessary for these girls to get a good start,” Denise Walters Dobson, the American Association of University Women’s Youngstown chapter’s scholarship chairwoman, said.

Walters Dobson was referring to several hundred students at East and Chaney middle schools, because they will be the recipients of hygiene kits many of the local AAUW chapter members busily assembled, in assembly-line fashion, during the organization’s community service project and luncheon Saturday afternoon at the United Way of Youngstown’s Volunteer Resource Center, 8133 Market St.

The kits will be distributed to the girls Feb. 14 during a meet-and-greet session at East High School in Youngstown, Kielly Rapp, UW’s community impact director, noted.

The gathering will provide an opportunity for the students from both middle schools to get better acquainted with one another in advance of when the Youngstown City School District’s reconfiguration plan, a two-phase consolidation initiative, goes into effect at the start of the 2026-27 school year. The strategic plan will entail merging Chaney and East high schools as well as Chaney and East middle schools into a single high school and middle school, both on the city’s East Side.

The AAUW women collaborated with one another to put together 325 such kits that contain toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant, lip balm, feminine products, shampoo and body wash. The items were individually labeled and will be stored at the volunteer center until they’re ready to be distributed, Rapp said.

The kits are valuable for those who receive them also because they contain some products that can’t always be bought with government benefits, Walters Dobson said. She added that the small packages can boost the girls’ confidence and make them more “ready to learn.”

“This puts you in the mood for the season of giving. It’s so little time for so big of an impact,” she said, referring to Saturday’s service project.

That spirit of giving also was important to Monica J. Baker, a new AAUW member and Hubbard Township trustee who Trumbull County Probate Judge James Fredericka appointed in January to fill the remainder of former Trustee Rick Hernandez’s term. Baker, who won one of two trustee seats in the Nov. 4 general election, also served on the township’s zoning commission.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know these like-minded women who want to give back to the community,” she said.

Also during the luncheon, AAUW members recognized the accomplishments of Suzanne Barbati, OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology’s former executive director, who was the recipient of an Outstanding Leadership Award from the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio’s governing board.

Also recognized and honored was Dr. Nicolette W. Powe, who will serve a five-year term on the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing’s board of commissioners starting in January. In addition, Powe, a public health scientist, was the 2024 winner of the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber’s ATHENA Award.

The local AAUW branch lists advancing equality for and empowering women and girls through education, advocacy, research and philanthropy to create lasting change as its primary purpose. The chapter was established in 1889 but officially became the AAUW in 1923, as several women’s groups committed to seeking equality led it.

The national organization was founded in 1881 with the purpose of maintaining high standards in education.

In addition, the grassroots organization offers support to women seeking judicial redress for sexual discrimination, along with funds to advance research, education and self-development. It also aims to improve the lives of women and their families.

The local American Association of University Women is seeking new members. Those interested are asked to email myee15218@gmail.com.