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Volusia high school seniors collect items to help the needy

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Two high school seniors are changing lives in Volusia County. They've launched a grassroots movement to donate beds and other good to local charities.

Rachel Jimenez and Ashley Lopez asked local hotels what they did with any extra items that weren't being used.

"We started going into all the hotels along this beach," Jimenez said.

The girls said they soon began receiving items from the hotels.

"We started off just maybe getting some bags of conditioners from hotels," Lopez said.

When local hotels can't find a place for their stuff, the high school students work to find people in need.

"We're constantly calling people and figuring out ways to transport supplies to different places," Jimenez said. "We've had help from people giving us trucks and borrowing trailers."

Family Renew Community is a facility that provides housing for needy families with children. It is one of the spots where the girls drop off mattresses and other items they've collected.

"It's so nice, in this world where we see mostly teenagers who are in trouble, to find two young ladies doing something so wonderful," Clarris Mac'Kie with Family Renew Community said.

After the seniors graduate high school, they hope to pass the program down to their younger classmates at Spruce Creek High School.