About

       I’ve done a few homeless outreach programs and gone on several mission trips throughout my life. For example, I went to Tucson, Arizona in seventh grade with my school to share God’s love with the homeless population there and hand out necessary supplies. In eighth grade, I went on a similar trip to City Heights, San Diego. We put together plastic Ziploc bags filled with granola bars, water, socks, soap, toothpaste, etc. I remember my teacher telling me sometimes the homeless valued the bag itself the most, because after California started charging ten cents per bag in grocery stores, the homeless couldn’t grab a bunch of free bags, go to the bathroom, and deposit the bag in a trash can. Therefore, human feces on the sidewalks and streets had become more common since bags stopped being free. After this, I started thinking; what do homeless women do on their period? Women can’t control when their period starts or ends, or wait until they find a bathroom. If it is difficult to afford ten cent plastic bags, how on earth could they afford twelve dollar boxes of pads and tampons every month? This realization made it clear that: 1) Feminine products are much too expensive and taxed excessively, and 2) Feminine products should be distributed with the food and other necessities homeless outreach programs supply.

       What’s funny is that men’s razors are taxed as a necessity, while women’s pads and tampons are taxed as a luxury. Last time I checked, women can’t live with blood running down their legs, but men can live with long beards. I realized that feminine products shouldn’t be so expensive and hard to come by for anyone, not just homeless women. If I forget to supply my backpack with tampons and I get my period at school, I better have money to pay for some from the bathroom dispensers. Except for the fact that these dispensers are extremely unsanitary, usually empty, and contain untrustworthy products. It’s ridiculous that me, a 16-year-old girl, has to pay to be a woman at school. This realization also made it clear to me that feminine products should be easily accessible in professional education and workplaces. This issue could easily be solved by supplying a basket of pads and tampons in the bathrooms, or even just cleaning and stocking the dispensers.

       I believe that organizations and government institutions should supply baskets of feminine products in the bathrooms of schools and businesses. A question that often arises is, “Why should men have to pay for a women’s issue?” The lack of accessibility for feminine products isn’t a women’s issue; it’s a human issue. The menstrual cycle is the female body’s natural way of preparing for childbirth. Without it, women couldn’t bear children, and reproduction is a key human aspect of life for men and women. Feminine products enable women to go to work, school, and carry on normal lives while they are menstruating; they allow hygiene and sanitation during this often stressful and painful week. Feminine products are essential for the health and well-being of the female body, affecting men and women alike. If taxes are meant to pay for the common good of the people, feminine products should be included.

        I’ve always been the type of person who can’t see a problem and simply stand by; I have to work for a solution. So, I decided I would start a non-profit organization and share my passion with others. By providing products for underprivileged women and professional business and education centers, I hope to work toward a future where feminine products are more accessible worldwide. 

​