Yes, the title of this post is a little different from my various DIYs and decorating posts. But it’s one that I am extremely passionate about. Before I rattle off a million reasons why you should donate feminine products, let me give a little background.
I can’t exactly remember why I looked into this issue over a year ago. But something made me realize how fortunate I am to not have to worry about affording feminine products. I mentioned at the end of my birthday post from last year that I had a resolution for my 28th year to help local woman. Well this was it! It took a full year to make it happen but I collected feminine products at our church for the month of October.
I really wasn’t sitting idle all year with the idea. I was asking around and figuring out the best way to collect donations and where to donate them. Fate just gave me a nudge in September when I met someone from a local organization I hadn’t found in my research. And that accelerated it all.
No one likes to get their period, but imagine the stress of having to decide to feed your family or buy feminine products for yourself until you can make it to next your paycheck. Or what if you fled an abusive partner and find yourself in a shelter with only the clothes on your back? Or even worse, you find yourself on the street relying on the kindness of strangers.
Here are a few reasons to donate:
- Feminine products (as well as toilet paper, shampoo, etc) are not covered under food stamps. That’s right, something that you have no control over on a monthly basis is not considered a necessity. (Source)
- Majority of states tax feminine products. As if homeless women and those in poverty have it hard enough, they have to pay taxes on these products! (Source and source)
- Feminine products are rarely donated to food pantries and homeless shelters. I have a coworker who used to work at an organization that served a lot of food pantries and shelters around the area and he rarely saw these products donated. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t women who need them! (Source)
I put it out to the women at my church to collect feminine products for women in the area. We have a high poverty area and given recent floods, many people are finding themselves displaced and homeless. I know it sounds weird to ask for such unmentionables but so many of the women came up to me to tell me they loved the idea!
Out little church was able to donate 282 tampons, 253 pads, and 228 liners. We also had a couple packages of wipes too. I dropped off the donations at a local organization that works in the 4 surrounding counties. Since our county was hit the hardest with flooding, the products will all go to our county’s case manager to help the women they are working with. Our donations would maybe last a case manager 6 months but due to the higher need right now, they will all be passed out within the month!
I highly encourage you to collect and donate feminine products for your community. I plan to collect these again, not just at church but among coworkers and friends. It’s hard for most of us to imagine a life without the privileges we take for granted. But that puts us in a great position to help others. ❤️
Yay! Marvelous! You need to share this with the women at church. They will be so pleased. And if you ever want to do a party I’ll be glad to host it with you!! ?.