Give n’ Glow will distribute these kits to women facing homelessness, domestic violence or financial insecurity across Boston and beyond.
Northeastern University student Samantha Asprelli is bringing love and care to disadvantaged women this Valentine’s Day.
Partnering with Northeastern’s Alliance of Civically Engaged Students, Asprelli organized the preparation of 1,000 beauty product kits valued in total at $200,000. These kits will be distributed to 10 organizations serving women in need across Boston and beyond.
“We wanted to time this event so the packages are serving a purpose on a day that’s traditionally filled with love and joy,” says Asprelli, founder of the nonprofit Give n’ Glow.
She believes the kits will create a lasting impact, as the recipients can continue using the products long after Valentine’s Day.
Asprelli, a third-year social innovation, entrepreneurship and brand management student at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, founded Give n’ Glow in August 2023. The nonprofit’s mission is to support women and teenagers facing challenges such as homelessness, domestic violence or financial insecurity.
Asprelli sees beauty products as complementary to the essential services that shelters and other organizations offer women. While beauty products might seem like luxury items, she says, Give n’ Glow’s mission is to turn them into items that everybody can access.
Give n’ Glow sources its products from beauty companies that donate unsold or near-expiration inventory, as well as lightly used donations from individuals and influencers.
“We’re creating this circular economy of secondhand beauty products that would otherwise just go in the landfill,” Aprelli says. “Instead they give women in need the chance to feel confident, beautiful and dignified when they’re going through hardship.”
On the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, about 30 volunteers, including first-year Northeastern students in the service learning program as well as members of a community-building network, GirlFriends Boston, gathered at Northeastern Crossing on Tremont Street to assemble the kits.
Leaning into King’s message that “everybody can be great because everybody can serve,” Asprelli says, they packed each kit with mascara, eyeshadow, press powder, lipstick, sunscreen, eye cream and face serum from brands such as Thrive Causemetics, Saie Beauty, Shielded Beauty, Genie Supply and Crunchi. The value of one kit, Asprelli says, is over $200.
“It was inspiring to educate the volunteers about ways to continue giving back,” Asprelli says. “We’re showing how easy and fun it can be to make a difference, especially with beauty products.”
Asprelli likes to imagine that women who’ll receive these products might use lipstick or mascara when applying for an ID, interviewing for a job or signing a lease for an apartment.
Since winning a 2024 Women Who Empower Innovator Award for her work with Give n’ Glow, Asprelli has seen exponential growth in the nonprofit’s operations. Last year, the organization distributed 15,000 products, including many to hurricane victims in Asheville, North Carolina. By the end of January, it’s on track to give away 11,000 products.
A significant contributor to this success is Thrive Causemetics, Asprelli says, which selected Give n’ Glow as part of its giving-back program.
“There’s such a need for beauty brands to have a resource to distribute their excess inventory,” she says. “Although we’re a student-run organization we can convince these brands that partnering with us is going to add value to what they do and we are going to make sure their excess product is going towards women who truly need it.”
Despite its growth, Give n’ Glow operates on a shoestring budget. Its team works entirely on a volunteer basis, and Asprelli stores the donations in her parents’ spare bedroom and her Boston apartment.
Give n’ Glow will need a warehouse soon to better serve Massachusetts. she says.
“We need a space that’s going to be able to absorb new products and increase our bandwidth,” she says. “So a brand like Ulta can come to us and say, ‘We have a lot of stuff, are you able to take it?’ and we can say, ‘Yes.’”