Jonathan Haukaas/jonathan@thereflector.com
Battle Ground City Councilor Cherish DesRochers has committed to drive into Portland, pick up 200 premade feminine hygiene product kits and deliver them to Battle Ground Public School’s Family and Community Resource Center (FCRC) in Brush Prairie, for as long as there is a need.
Awhile back DesRochers heard rumblings in the area about there being a high demand, but a low supply, of feminine hygiene products available to girls in the Battle Ground school district. Many times that void was filled by district staff, like nurses buying it themselves, said Martha Bellcoff, Family Resource Services Specialist at FCRC.
DesRochers founded and is president of Food with Friends, whose goal is combating homelessness in the community by helping connect the homeless with various resources fit to their needs. She thought providing feminine hygiene products could be a good opportunity for Food with Friends to help local youth and started doing more research and found an organization based in Portland called Period.
Period. was founded in 2014 and supplies feminine hygiene product kits to girls and women in need, primarily through campus chapters at high schools and universities.
“After learning what the possibilities were, I really started to think about all the girls in our school district who may have trouble accessing supplies monthly,” DesRochers said.
DesRochers contacted Period. about how Food with Friends could get the products into the district.
Because of the high demand, Period. put Food with Friends on a waiting list. That’s where the group stayed for the last few months before DesRochers got another idea.
After mentioning to Period. that Food with Friends could maybe do fundraising of their own, she discovered that about half the cost came from having the kits shipped. DesRochers had a simple solution: pick them up herself.
“That was a game changer,” she said.
Two weekends ago she drove into Portland and picked up the first box of 200 kits.
“I get chills thinking how my once a month trip to Portland will help 200 girls a month,” DesRochers said. “That feels incredible to me and shows me how one small thing can have a huge impact.”
Originally appeared in The Reflector: https://www.thereflector.com/stories/program-provides-feminine-hygiene-products-for-girls,43581?