Upset with my own ignorance, I interviewed several recent graduates of local high schools about their own experiences, asking if they saw a lack of supplies as a real problem. These brave women described the embarrassment of a period which starts during school, their decisions to leave or not go to school at all, their reluctance to use generic one-size-fits-all products in school bathroom dispensers, even their decisions not to engage in social and sports activities at school for fear of embarrassment. The students I interviewed did not want to make their parent(s) feel bad about not having money to meet their needs, so they made do without, often staying home or adopting potentially unhealthy solutions.
Reactive solutions: Current programs at Middletown’s public high and middle schools are addressing what we might call emergencies. Our schools stock clean, new undergarments and leggings in many sizes, as well as tampons and pads, all in the nurse’s office. Students are encouraged to take what they need for the immediate and future needs and have access to a private bathroom.
Proactive Solutions: We believe that a certain amount of psychological damage occurs before a student heads for the nurse’s office. Our goal is to make a self-selected choice of products available to students via a smart-phone AP. A student can pick from brand-named pads in five sizes, tampons in three sizes, a total of 25 individual products in all, once per month. The student submits the confidential order, we package the order in an opaque bag with the students name on it and drop it off at the high school the following Friday. The students will be informed where to pick up their orders by the school.
Benefits of a two-pronged approach: Some students will continue to have emergencies, and our public schools are doing a great job of minimizing the embarrassment associated with those incidents. If the nurse then shows the student how to access products via our ap, that one student may never have an embarrassing, period related moment again during the school year. The student can be coached to order their monthly supply weeks in advance of the expected period, and educational and other important opportunities will no longer missed for this reason.
Based on the number of students accessing our Friday Food Markets which supply free weekend nutrition, we anticipate the need to be between 250 – 300 girls. $25,000/year will meet 100% of their needs for the nine months of the school year, and 100% of your donation goes to purchase feminine hygiene products.
Two ways to help. Click this Link to go to our Amazon Wish-List. Order any and as much of the eight products that we are using to supply our program for students. Amazon will deliver them directly to our warehouse in Middletown. If you would rather make a financial contribution, please use the link below.