Superintendent Dr. Melvin J. Brown and School Board Vice President Claudia Thomas-Mitchell of Montgomery Public Schools in Alabama participated in a WITKITS giveaway to girls in need in honor of International Day of the Girl Child. The WITKITS were made possible thanks to a generous Community Service Grant to Women in Training from Junior League of Montgomery and Always brand of period products from Procter & Gamble who donated the pads in an effort to help #EndPeriodPoverty across the U.S.
“I support WIT’s programs to empower girls in our community,” said Dr. Brown. “When we hear about youth empowerment and mentoring programs, they usually focus on boys and young men. We need to focus on uplifting both girls and boys in our community.”
Women in Training works with MPS school nurses to distribute monthly WITKITS to menstruators in the following middle schools and special centers:
Baldwin
Brewbaker
Johnny Carr
Goodwyn
Capitol Heights
Floyd
Bellingrath
McIntyre
Mckee
Dunbar Ramer
Southlawn Middle
Pintlala
Children’s Center
Each WITKIT contains a month’s supply of the following items, and is valued at $50 per canvas bag.
Always pads
The WIT Guide to Menstrual Education brochure
Unscented soap
Deodorant
Lotion
Toothpaste, toothbrushes and floss
Washcloth or loofah
Pair of fuzzy socks
Handmade bracelet
Earlier this year, Women in Training was instrumental in the unanimous passage of Alabama’s House Bill 50, the period poverty law that allocates $200,000 to the Alabama Department of Education to provide menstrual products to students in Title I schools at no charge to students. The actual cost to provide monthly menstrual products to the more than 56,000 low-income menstruators in Alabama’s public schools is $3 million annually; therefore, Women in Training continues to help meet the gap through its WITKITS Campaign.
In the U.S., nearly 1 in 5 girls have missed school due to the lack of access to period products. Always recently expanded their work to help #EndPeriodPoverty across the United States by organizing the first-ever team of “50 Period Heroes” to help fight period poverty across the country. Always Period Heroes represent people and organizations in each of the 50 U.S. states who have already made significant efforts to address period poverty in their local area.
Always joined together with 50 Period Heroes to help distribute a total of 3.5 million pads to communities in all 50 states to help fight period poverty across the country and help young people stay in the confidence-boosting activities they love. Always' Period Heroes Brooke and Breanna Bennett, Founders of Women in Training, Inc. were selected as Always’ Period Heroes in Alabama and are using the donation from Always in the WITKITS to help #EndPeriodPoverty in Montgomery.
Please click the arrow below to watch the WSFA news broadcast:
The fight does not end here. You can join WIT, Always and the 50 Period Heroes to help #EndPeriodPoverty in the U.S. and become a Period Hero yourself. Contact your elected officials here and ask them to show their support to help #EndPeriodPoverty.
To help Women in Training continue its work, please donate HERE!
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