Women’s History Month: Dallas Collaboration for NOW’s “End Period Poverty” Supply Drive for 2023

Dallas Black Bloggers (DBB) and Network of Women (NOW) is partnering to collect menstrual and feminine hygiene products for a local nonprofit organization for Women’s History Month. This partnership has garnered participation from Dallas business owners to host a supply drive and drop off locations. Dallas Black Bloggers is a Dallas-based community and have a social media presence starting in 2019. The End Period Poverty Campaign for 2023 has led both organizations to address period poverty in the Dallas area.

NOW’s mission is to support women and girls with basic human needs in vulnerable populations around the world.  The Louisiana based nonprofit’s main initiative is to network with other organizations to donate menstrual and feminine hygiene products to those in need. Dallas City Council member Paula Blackmon says, “that poverty affects the ability of women to afford menstrual products.”[1] Local organizations are essential at combatting period poverty by directly engaging the community-at-large to increase menstrual equity for women and girls.  The highest requests for products came from the 11 to 17 age group, and from two zip codes in West Dallas: 75211 and 75212.[2] “Meeting the hygiene needs of all adolescent girls is a fundamental issue of human rights, dignity, and public health,” says Sanjay Wijesekera, former UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene.[3] 

The End Period Poverty Campaign menstrual and feminine hygiene products will be donated to Self-Reflection Girls and Women, Inc.  This Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex nonprofit organization assists many girls and women from ages 13- 45 towards healing and reaching for a better tomorrow regardless of the individual’s past. Their services include mentoring and counseling survivors of sexual abuse. The co-founder Christal Rhodes is a certified life coach through her own personal experiences with childhood sexual abuse. She has helped victims of sexual abuse build the confidence and self-esteem to pursue their life goals and lead healthy and successful lives since 2021.

Drop of locations for the supply drive are at local businesses in the Dallas area.  The locations are Grit Fitness, Union Café, Blacklit Bookstore, Tre Stelle Coffee Co, and Pan African Connection Bookstore and Resource Center. 

[1] Stubblefield-Engram, B., (2022). “New program offers free menstrual products with expansion of Period Access Dallas Initiative.” Kera-BBC World Service.  Retrieved from https://www.keranews.org/news/2022-12-14/new-program-offers-free-menstrual-products-with-expansion-of-period-access-dallas-initiative. 

[2] Erickson, B., (2022). “Dallas City Hall Targets Period Poverty.” D Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2022/10/dallas-city-hall-targets-period-poverty. 

[3] Rodriguez, L., (2022). “Period Poverty: Everything You Need to Know.” Global Citizen Online. Retrieved from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/period-poverty-everything-you-need-to-know.