Junior League of Tallahassee gets national grant to help end period poverty

Special to the Chronicle
·2 min read
Free feminine hygiene products are now available at some Leon County Schools after work done by Rickards High School sophomore Amaya Waymon. She and others are working to make the same thing a reality in all Leon County Schools.
Free feminine hygiene products are now available at some Leon County Schools after work done by Rickards High School sophomore Amaya Waymon. She and others are working to make the same thing a reality in all Leon County Schools.

Junior League of Tallahassee (JLT) was recently awarded a Giving Sustainability Grant

from The Pad Project, a national non-profit combating period poverty in the United States. The grant provides $17,000 worth of washable period underwear from The Period Company and $500 for menstrual health education.

“We are grateful to The Pad Project for their generous support of eradicating period poverty in Tallahassee,” said Katie Britt Williams, Immediate Past President of JLT and the team lead for the grant application. “This grant will allow JLT – along with our other local partners – to level up our goals of erasing period poverty, improving the health of menstruators in our community, and shattering the stigma and limitations associated with menstruation.”

In addition to JLT, the other community groups partnering on the grant are The Girl Flo Project, Whole Child Leon, The Oasis Center for Women and Girls, Beyond the Pantry, the Foundation for Leon County Schools, and Sustainable Tallahassee.

“We could not be more proud of the relationship among the various organizations that led to JLT receiving this grant,” said Mary Deschler, Special Projects Coordinator for The Oasis Center.

“The groups participating in this project are united in the belief that everyone deserves – and should have access to – quality period care. The collaborative and community-based approach we used to apply for this grant is indicative of the positive impact this project will have on underserved and diverse groups within our

community.”

Anyone interested in learning more about this project can email EndPeriodPovertyTLH@gmail.com or call 850-491-0192.

For more information about the Junior League of Tallahassee, call 850-224-9161 or visit JLTallahassee.org.

The Pad Project is the nonprofit behind Period. End of Sentence., the 2019 Academy Award-winning documentary that sparked a global conversation about menstrual equity.

The Pad Project believes “a period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education.” Its mission is to create and cultivate local and global partnerships to end period stigma and empower women worldwide.

Never miss a story:  Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Junior League of Tallahassee gets national grant to help end period poverty