Share the Dignity campaign to help provide period products

Empowering Women in Need: Maleny Woolworths’ Manager Darren Rusk with team member, Courtney Stockhill and the in-store donation box.

With the rate of women and girls experiencing homelessness and poverty increasing, Share the Dignity is in urgent need of period product donations for their biannual Dignity Drive.This helps ensure that those without a place to call home don’t also have to go without period products.

The number of women and girls experiencing homelessness is on the rise with a 10 percent increase reported since 2016 and the majority (40 percent) citing domestic violence as the primary reason.

Unfortunately, when women, girls and people with a period can’t afford period products research has shown they leave in period products for longer than recommended or improvise with items like socks, toilet paper, or newspaper.

Share the Dignity is aiming to collect at least 200,000 period products for this initiative.

Throughout August, Woolworths will donate 5 cents from the sale of every period product purchased to help fund Share the Dignity’s Dignity Vending Machines, with more than $2.5 million donated since the partnership began.

Pink collection boxes will also be available in Woolworths supermarkets across Australia for the donation of period products.

Maleny’s Catherine Millett is a volunteer with Share the Dignity and will be helping to collect and distribute the donations in Maleny and across the Sunshine Coast to registered charities.

“Our Dignity Drives are so important to ensure those experiencing period poverty can manage their period with dignity. We rely on these donations to give to charities to ensure the people they support don’t have to use unsuitable alternatives. Please, if you can, consider donating pads, tampons, menstrual cups, period underwear, reusable pads or incontinence aids this August,” she said.

Supporters can help by dropping off period products at any Woolworths supermarket or a number of nominated businesses nationwide throughout August. Alternatively, you can donate via the Share the Dignity website.

Share the Dignity strongly believes those experiencing period poverty should be able to use their preferred period product, so collect all brands and types of period products in their original packaging including pads, tampons, menstrual cups, period undies, reusable pads, as well as incontinence aids.