As cost-of-living soars for those in Maribrynong and Hobsons bay, so to do period product requests from Share the Dignity’s charity partners for its biannual Dignity Drive.
Request levels are currently sitting at 170,000 and rising, Australian charity Share the Dignity to worry about meeting the demand.
A 2023 UNICEF report found one in six children in Australia are living in poverty, and Share the Dignity has heard first-hand that when people struggle to make ends meet, pads and tampons are often the first thing to come off the shopping list.
Throughout March Share the Dignity is collecting period products and incontinence aids in pink boxes at all Woolworths supermarkets nationwide, to ensure those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, domestic violence or poverty don’t have to risk their health and go through the indignity of using other items in place of period products.
Woolworths will also donate 5 cents from the sale of every period product purchased during the Drive, adding to the $2.7 million already donated to help support menstrual equity for all.
The money raised has helped fund 109 Dignity Vending Machines across Australia which dispense free period packs at the push of a button.
All period products and incontinence aids collected through the Dignity Drive will be distributed to Share the Dignity’s 3000+ charity partners, including community groups, domestic violence refuges, homeless shelters and other organisations supporting our most vulnerable community members.
Share the Dignity Founder and Managing Director, Rochelle Courtenay said Share the Dignity had some big goals this March in the hopes to ensure menstrual equity for Australians.
“Every Dignity Drive I receive messages from our charity partners expressing their gratitude for the period products, it allows them to ensure their clients can deal with their period with dignity,” she said.
“If you have the means to do so, I urge you to drop period products into our collection points nationwide, you never know what someone is going through and at the very least let’s ensure women, girls and those who menstruate don’t have to use cotton wool, toilet paper or socks to manage their period.
“Not only do I hope to be able to collect the period products we need, but I hope we can make a tangible change for future generations, by receiving at least 200,000 responses to our Bloody Big Survey. The data collected will help us advocate for change and allow us to show Australia how fundamentally important ensuring menstrual equity is.”
Make an impact this March by donating period products to Share the Dignity’s Dignity Drive.
You can find your closest drop off point on the website.
Details: www.sharethedignity.org.au/dignity-drives
