from Alvernia Women’s Council
Several years ago, Suzanne Cody was volunteering at a local nonprofit when she heard whispers that they were running low on period products. This was her first introduction to period poverty, an often-unspoken public health crisis.
Period poverty is defined as inadequate access to menstrual hygiene products and education, which disproportionally affects lower-income families. According to the Alliance for Period Supplies, 1 in 7 women and girls between the ages of 12 and 44 lives below the Federal Poverty Line in Pennsylvania.
Without access to these products, many women who are already struggling to make ends meet cannot go to work. 1 in 4 teens in the U.S. has missed class due to lack of access to period supplies. Many women and girls resort to using other items on hand, such as shoe insoles, toilet paper, cardboard, or socks, which can lead to dangerous infections.
In 2022, Cody and several other women from Berks collaborated to create the Help A Girl Out Drive. The grassroots effort provides feminine products and diapers to menstruators served by our local nonprofits.
Help a Girl Out is now in its fourth year. They collect diapers, pads, tampons, period underwear, wipes, and incontinence products during the month of February. These products are then distributed to local nonprofit organizations. The 2024 last drive collected over 47,000 units of feminine products, split between Opportunity House, Children’s Home of Reading, Safe Berks, and the LGBT Center of Greater Reading.
To learn more about menstrual equity and how you can be part of the solution, join us on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Alvernia Upland Center, 540 Upland Ave., Reading. Registration is available online.
Bring an item in support of Help A Girl Out!
The post Alvernia Women’s Council Quarterly Meeting to Feature Help A Girl Out Project appeared first on BCTV.
Source: bctv
Be First to Comment