New specialty items are available in the OCH Auxiliary Gift Shop, with the proceeds going toward helping one young girl with Down Syndrome achieve her goal of attending MSU’s Access program.
Lewisburg High School sophomore Morgan Tibbens, 17, wanted to raise money to attend the program, which helps students with mental disabilities transition into higher education, and got the idea to sell homemade bath bombs to help fund her dream.
Tibbens named her academic fundraising venture Da Bombs.
Denise Tibbens, Morgan’s mother, told the SDN the idea came after her daughter wanted to attend a Carrie Underwood concert, but wanted pit passes instead of the riser seats her father purchased.
“I said ‘If you want to buy tickets, you need to get a job,’ and we were in a boutique and she pointed at bath bombs and said ‘I could do that,’” Denise Tibbens said.
After research on Pinterest, Morgan Tibbens set up shop at a couple of boutiques before deciding to put the money toward the cost of attending the MSU Access program.
Denise Tibbens said the program costs roughly $30,000 a year. To date, they have raised nearly $8,000 to go toward tuition. The MSU Access program is funded by the state and does not receive money from the federal government.
“It’s very expensive and especially for somebody that is going and living on their own,” Denise Tibbens said. “It’s a good thing, because they teach them how to live on their own, teach them to go grocery shopping or go downtown … they encourage it.”
In addition to selling the products at OCH, Morgan Tibbens has shelf space in Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma. Denise Tibbens then said they are hoping to have a deal worked out to sell Da Bombs in Katy, Texas.
Part of the proceeds will also help other students, with the OCH Auxiliary awarding scholarships to students pursuing a degree in the medical field.
OCH Volunteer Services Coordinator Lauren Gardner heard about Morgan Tibbens through a friend and contacted her on Facebook to sell her bath bombs at the OCH Auxiliary Gift Shop.
“We were the first store in Starkville to contact her about selling the bath bombs and she was so excited,” she said.
Tibbens made a bath bomb scent specifically for OCH, called the “Bully Bomb.” The special scent has paw print charms inside and sold out quickly.
The hospital’s first order of Da Bombs sold out within two hours.
Denise Tibbens said Da Bombs typically sell for $8 for one or three for $20.
She recently took her daughter to visit the MSU campus and said it seems like the perfect fit for the young entrepreneur.
“We came down probably a month ago to tour Mississippi State and everyone was so nice and everyone reached out and want her to be a Bulldog,” she said. “It seems like a family, so I’m not scared to let my daughter go to college there.”