One out of every four women will be the victim of sexual assault at some point in her college career.

Perhaps we can quibble about the “actual” number, and say it depends on the survey you look at, and the definitions for sexual assault. But that only serves to miss the point: whatever the number is, if it’s over zero it’s too high.

Four North Dakota State students in the women and gender studies program are doing their part to help victims of sexual assault through their activism project, which provides Hope Kits for survivors.

“Essentially what we’re doing is raising money for survivors who go to Sanford or Essentia after they’ve been raped or sexually assaulted,” Mackenzie Eckman, a senior majoring in women and gender studies and HDFS, said. “Mainly we’re focusing on aftercare.”

The group is working with the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo-Moorhead, which will then distribute the kits to Sanford and Essentia as they are needed.

“They don’t get a lot of donations, and there isn’t a lot of awareness about the importance of aftercare,” Eckman said.

“So we are trying to help distribute things that survivors might lack,” Rosie Carlson, a junior studying HDFS with a minor in women and gender studies, said. “Stuff like shampoo, conditioner, gas cards, taxi service cards or even fuzzy socks.”

In addition to providing their Hope Kits, the group made pamphlets containing university specific and local contact information for different resources available to victims of sexual assault, which they hope will be distributed around local universities and medical centers.

“If there’s one thing to know, it’s that you aren’t alone — there’s a lot of help in the community,” Eckman said.

The group is hopeful their project will be beneficial, especially for a college audience.

“People have been sharing this project and donating to it on a much wider scale than we expected,” Eckman said. “It’s really cool that so many people genuinely care; it’s been so worth it.”

“It’s so amazing how little things can make such a big difference,” Carlson said, “and we want to provide a part of that difference.”

Any people who would like to support the project are encouraged to donate at gofundme.com/wgshopekits and like NDSU WGS Hope Kits on Facebook.