In recognition of a community need, the Quincy Public Library will be holding its 2nd Annual Menstrual Hygiene Drive from Friday, March 1st until Friday, April 12th.
Period Poverty is a human rights issue that affects all menstruating individuals regardless of race, nationality, and religion. It includes not only the lack of menstrual hygiene supplies, but also a lack of education surrounding menstruation. According to an article published in the Journal of Global Health Reports, "Two-thirds of the 16.9 million low-income women in the US could not afford menstrual products in the past year, with a half of this needing to choose between menstrual products and food." The number is even higher when considering trans people.
It is not uncommon for individuals to miss out on school, work, and even other daily activities because of their period. This issue is exacerbated when individuals do not have access to the proper menstrual products or education about a process that affects more than half of the world's population.
Last year, your generosity provided almost 80 packages of pads, tampons, period underwear, menstrual cups, and hygiene wipes to the Bella Ease Care Closet, the Quincy Public Schools, Horizons, Quanada, the Quincy Well House, and the YWCA! Let's see if we can top that this year!
Simply drop off your donations in the lobby any time the library is open. Items we will be accepting include:
This year we will be donating the supplies to the YWCA, Quanada, Horizons, the Bella Ease Care Closet, the Quincy Public Schools, and Parents as Teachers.
Don't have the time or want to purchase these products? Let us take care of the shopping for you! We will have a box for cash donations along with a Givebutter campaign to raise money for us to purchase these supplies. Please access our Givebutter campaign at: https://givebutter.com/menstruationdrive23
Michel, J., Mettler, A., Schonenberger, S., & Gunz, D. (2022). Period poverty: Why it should be everybody's business. Journal of Global Health Reports, 6. https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.32436