NEW ORLEANS —
Two high school seniors heard about a need in the community and decided to spring into action this summer. It’s one they say is magnified especially now with the pandemic. And they are hoping you will help them.
Julia Munger and her friend Caroline Schreiner would normally be babysitting or hanging out with friends this summer before their senior year in high school. But something caught Caroline's eye on instagram.
"I just like never had to deal with that so that’s what really like caught my interest about it," said Caroline Schreiner, 17.
She’s never had to deal with worrying about having enough feminine protection each month. But in May the teens learned there are women who have to choose between spending money on groceries or menstruation products.
"When I started researching the topic more and more, the statistics I started to read were really startling, just like one in four women struggle to access period products and one in five women report that they aren’t able to report to work or to school because they don’t have period products." said Julia Munger, 16
First they noticed there was no local chapter of the national organization Period, The Menstrual Movement. So they started one. After working social media, they teamed up with the Ben Franklin Baking Club, and went to work, making all those comfort foods such as cookies, brownies, and the like and had a bake sale. That grossed $450. Then it was off to Walmart to shop. Next they made nondescript packages for each cycle and donated them to Second Harvest Food Bank and the Junior League Diaper Bank to distribute.
"Especially in light of the whole COVID crisis, a lot of people were unemployed. A lot of people were like not doing well financially, so just the idea of helping women who need supplies just properly take care of themselves," Munger gave as a reason for doing this volunteer work.
"It’s not a common subject that people like are posting about are talking about," said Schreiner.
But now the pair hopes people are not only talking about it, but are moved to action with them.
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