October Tower Echoes: Period Party!
While working at our food bank one night, I noticed a lack of feminine hygiene products. This stirred up strong emotions in me, because as a person who has periods, I’ve seen too much of the stigma surrounding them. Since my first sex education course in fifth grade, periods have been a topic of shame, something to hide and ignore. “It’s not that bad.” “No one wants to hear about it.” “That’s disgusting.” These are some of the things I’ve heard since my first ever period in seventh grade, and I strongly believe that it is time to talk about it. I want to hear about it. Like many other girls, I’ve carried pads, tampons, and painkillers with me at all times for anyone who needed them since middle school. Girls would whisper to me when they needed something like it was a secret. We taught each other how to open the wrappers silently, how to discretely shove a tampon up your shirt sleeve, I even had to teach several girls how to use a pad because no one else would. And what was this all for? Other people’s comfort? I have to say, I’m over it. Periods are not disgusting, they’re not something to hide. They are natural, and let’s be real, half the people in the entire world have them! I, for one, am sick and tired of the silence, and for the last few years I’ve been living the truth. I talk about my periods at school, with friends and family, and I don’t lie anymore when I’m asked why my stomach hurts. And I encourage every single person who gets periods to do the same. It’s time for us to all stop pretending!
And that is why pads, tampons, menstrual cups, and all other menstrual products need to be given by our food bank. These are not wants, they are needs, and I hate to think how homeless women and women in need struggle to meet these needs. A few months ago, our food bank started providing small amounts of these products, and within days they were gone. Now I’m calling on you to make a difference in these women’s lives. We are starting a new station in the food bank, dedicated to feminine hygiene products only. To make this possible we need donations.
That is why, for the month of October, we’re having a Period Party! There will be a drop box located in the narthex where all donations are welcome! Currently what we need most are pads, tampons (all sizes), menstrual cups/disks, and liners. We will also welcome any money donations to create space for our station, and of course, shopping for more products. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated, we need all hands on deck for this project! My hope is to empower all my fellow period-havers out there to own it. Own your body and never apologize for your needs. And that includes all homeless and struggling women, we cannot let them be overlooked.
That same night after the food bank, after my realization that we were lacking in the women’s health department, I found myself in the medical section of Ken’s Market, fired up to start this project, oblivious to just how big it can be. This is God’s true work. Period.
Written by Charlie Van Kley