Residents of the Utah State Correctional Facility spent September 24, 2026, assembling thousands of hygiene kits for people in the community, and many of them chipped in money from their own accounts to help pay for it. The project, held inside the state's newest prison, marked what organizers called only the second time a service project of its kind has been staged inside a correctional facility anywhere in the country.
According to ABC4 Utah, residents on both the men's and women's sides of the prison worked together to pack the bags, which contain soap and other necessities. One inmate told the station the kits were meant for homeless people, while ABC4 reported the finished bags will ultimately support local refugee groups in Salt Lake City. Fundraising for the project opened a month beforehand, and residents raised over $2,000 toward it despite typically earning only about a dollar an hour for prison labor.
A Peer Leader Pushes the Project Forward
Misty Boozenny, a peer support coordinator inside the prison, helped lead the effort and told ABC4 that residents raised the money in a short window of time. Community groups matched the residents' contributions, and the combined 9/11 service project ultimately raised about $15,000. That inmate-driven total carries extra weight given how prison pay works: nationally, deductions for restitution, room, board and taxes can eat up to 80 percent of gross wages before any money reaches an inmate's personal account, according to the ACLU.
One Kind Act a Day, a Utah nonprofit founded by philanthropist Khosrow Semnani, was a major donor behind the effort and continues its ongoing work inside the prison. Cosgrove Semnani, who leads both One Kind Act a Day and the Semnani Family Foundation, attended the assembly project in person. Per ABC4, Semnani said he saw inmates happily helping other people and that the results exceeded his expectations.
Part of a Broader Partnership Inside the Prison
One Kind Act a Day previously donated camera equipment that helped incarcerated residents produce “Breaking Chains,” a documentary about their rehabilitation journeys filmed inside the prison, as reported by KSL.com.
The project was part of the National Day of Service and Remembrance.
A Newer Facility With Its Own Recent Headlines
The service project took place inside the 1.35-million-square-foot Utah State Correctional Facility, which opened in 2022 to replace the state's aging Draper prison. The facility can house up to 3,600 inmates across 35 buildings, with separate housing areas for men and women named after Utah waterways, which is part of why the service project could run on both sides of the facility at once.
The prison has drawn other headlines in recent months tied to security and operations rather than volunteerism. Hoodline previously reported that lawmakers moved to loosen housing rules at the facility through Senate Bill 93 amid officer safety concerns.
