In early November, the Alliance for Period Supplies at the Junior League of the Palm Beaches, a local women’s volunteer organization with 81 years of service in Palm Beach County, secured and hand-delivered a donation of 70,000 period supply products to support Hurricane Ian relief efforts in Fort Myers.
The supplies, donated by U by Kotex, the founding sponsor of the Alliance for Period Supplies, are being distributed by the Junior League of Fort Myers and the Midwest Food Bank Florida Division. Dedicated to the cause, JLPB Period Supply Initiative co-chairs Courtney Lala and Susan Christiansen made the cross-state drive together to make the delivery.
Founded in 2019, the Alliance for Period Supplies at the Junior League of the Palm Beaches has distributed more than 400,000 period supply products to women and girls in need in South Florida by partnering with more than 20 allied nonprofit organizations, including the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, the Children’s Home Society of South Florida, the Florence DeGeorge Boys & Girls Club of West Palm Beach and the Palm Beach County Food Bank.
In the United States, two in five women struggle to purchase period products due to lack of income, and nearly one third of low-income women have reported missing work, school or similar commitments due to lack of access to period supplies. The Alliance for Period Supplies is dedicated to supporting individuals, children and families who struggle to afford basic material needs, including period supplies.
This year, the JLPB plans to distribute more than 275,000 products to those in need by increasing awareness of the national and state issue of period poverty, expanding its local community outreach program and partnering with more organizations interested in contributing charitable donations to fund its period supply bank.
Learn more about the Alliance for Period Supplies at the Junior League of the Palm Beaches at www.jlpb.org/community/community-programs/period-supplies. To support the project, e-mail periodsupplies@jlpb.org.
