Girl Up holds period product drive

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Girl Up is running a period product drive to assure that every classroom has quality products available for all students.

Co-president Olivia Kiefer believes that no student should have to worry about having period products. Acknowledging that period products are necessary does not change the fact that money plays a significant role for some in the matter.

“We recognized here at Girl Up this issue, and we are focused on the diversity of our school and all the different people within it who we are trying to support. We want to make sure that everyone has access to these products while they suffer through their periods,” Kiefer said.

Kiefer and her co-president are value changing the community here at Central directly.

“When the people of our club and our school are impacted by it, they can go out into their new communities and help elicit change. By making things more convenient here, and inspiring others by doing projects like this, we hope it will spread farther than Central itself.”

Girl Up does many projects like this for Central, but the main focus of this one is to bring awareness to the fact that sometimes, these products are a cost that people at school cannot bear. By making sure everyone has access to these products, Girl Up is hoping it will alleviate some stress for the student body.

“We want to make the environment here at Central more comfortable, so it’s not something to fear when you come to school during that time,” Kiefer said.

Girl Up wants to create a community that is aware and not ignorant to the problems that women face. By being educated on these issues, the student body is actively working to try and solve them.

Donations like baskets and buckets for storage, and new quality pads and tampons of all sizes, preferably not cardboard, will be accepted in rooms 221 and 222 any time before Dec. 17 to make the deadline for the basket distribution. After this deadline, donations will still be accepted and encouraged for restocking the products around school.

Girl Up will have all the baskets distributed after break this year, and students can expect to see them in classrooms upon their return in January.

Kiefer discusses the infamous scenario every person with a period has faced. Having to quietly ask someone for a pad or tampon, then quickly pulling it up to be hidden underneath a sleeve. Girl Up and its presidents want to ensure that no one has to face this problem again.

“I think by making them in these cute little buckets and putting them around the classrooms, it also takes away some of the gross stigma around periods,” Kiefer said. “We are trying to take some of that shame away.”