CLARKS SUMMIT — Service. Education. Advocacy. These are the pillars of a national non-profit organization called PERIOD: The Menstrual Movement. This academic year, two Abington Heights juniors, Clare Della Valle and Isabel Lam, began a local chapter of the organization to educate and assist women and the community.
The more than 60 students who are a part of the Abington Heights chapter will distribute menstrual products to women in need, organize community donation drives to collect menstrual products, hold educational seminars about related topics and are actively advocating for menstrual products to be covered by government assistance programs.
“[Neither of us] has ever had to worry about whether or not we were going to be able to purchase menstrual products,” Della Valle said. “To be honest, we were ignorant to the issue that plagues so many women in this country. Once we discovered that one in give girls do not have access to menstrual products and that menstruation is the leading cause of girls missing school in the United States, we knew that we had to something.”
She continued, noting, “We are so passionate about this cause because we firmly believe that menstruation is a right not a privilege and we believe that no woman should ever have to worry if they will be able to afford menstrual products.”
The core members of the organization include officers Peyton Gualtieri, education director; Lauren Berry, secretary; Baylor Lounsbery, fundraising director; Liv Arcuri, social media coordinator; and Audrey Phillips, treasurer.
Della Valle and Lam were invited by the founder of the organization Nayda Okamoto to attend the global PERIOD: The Movement conference, called PeriodCon. They attended the event and had the opportunity to speak with key influencers about their chapter of the organization.
The organization and the students involved hope to eliminate the taboo nature of the topic at hand and foster an educated and normalized perspective on an issue so basic to the human experience. This all begins with action and openness, which is the focus of this movement
The organization has a Givelively account where donations can be made to support their non-profit efforts. To donate, visit, https://secure.givelively.org/donate/period-inc/menstrual-hygiene-is-a-right-not-a-luxury/abington-heights-period-club.
