Share the Dignity's August Drive is well underway in the Leeton community, with a small but dedicated group of volunteers calling for community members to donate what they can to tackle period poverty in the region.
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Founder of Share the Dignity, Rochelle Courtenay, spoke with The Irrigator last month and shared her 'high hopes' for the Drive, hoping to reach an incredible 200,000 donated products in total for the year.
"This amount could help 50,000 women for four months which is an incredible number but it's still not enough" Mrs Courtenay said.
Local Team Leader and Share the Dignity volunteer Vanessa Johns said she was hoping in conjunction with Griffith, the Leeton community could come together and donate 1225 individual products.
"We are very optimistic about achieving this goal by the end of August, the response so far from community members wanting to donate has blown us all away."
Broken down this equates to 550 packs of pads, 425 packs of tampons, 225 packs of incontinence pads, 15 individual menstrual cups and 10 sets of period underwear.
"Basic hygiene products should be made accessible to all women, especially those sufferring from homelessness and poverty" Mrs Johns said.
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"Many people are unaware as to how many women experience period poverty not just in Australia but locally in our region.
Imagine having to make hard choices such as food, bills and shelter and having to prioritise that over essential sanitary items for themselves."
According to Mrs Johns, all of the donated products will be kept within the Griffith and Leeton local communities.
"Before the August Drive commenced, we reached out to a range of local charities to see if their needs aligned with our purpose and subsequently we have partnered with six local charities, including the Leeton Community Co - operative" Mrs Johns said.
With a few weeks to go still in the August Drive, Mrs Johns also encouraged more community members to get involved as volunteers and help meet the target for total donated essential sanitary items.
If you would like to donate any products, collection points are located in all Woolworths stores.
For more information and to get involved as a volunteer with Share the Dignity you can head to https://www.sharethedignity.org.au/home
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