Following in the footsteps of the “School That Bleeds” campaign, a new organization is working at City High to help women in need, called Tampon Tuesday.

This program is a nation-wide drive to get tampons and pads to women without access to them. On the first Tuesday of every month, Girl Scout Troop 8131 will host bake sales, movie screenings, or another event for students. Admission or sales will cost one dollar or one sanitary pad or tampon. Like the “School That Bleeds” program, all hygiene products collect will go to the local women’s shelter or the school food pantry, and all money will go to Afripads, an international organization that helps women in underdeveloped countries.

As much as women in America struggle with periods, it’s even harder for women in underdeveloped countries. According to Nina Sachs, the founder of Tampon Tuesday, the number one reason why girls in Nigeria drop out of school is because of their periods, whether it’s because they don’t have supplies, painkillers, or they’re afraid of the stigma surrounding menstruation. “Often, after continually missing one week out of every month of school, the girls fall behind, and subsequently, drop out,” says Sachs on her website. “In 2009, a study done by the Ministry of Education in Nigeria found that a greater distribution of sanitary pads coupled with sexual and reproductive health education would increase attendance in school by 3.5 days per month.” Organizations like Afripads are here to help girls stay in school despite their periods.

Unfortunately, it’s not only a problem overseas. Right here in America people struggle with access to sanitary products. Pads and tampons are considered luxury products by the US government are therefore are not exempt from tax like most health-related products, including condoms and sunblock. The average woman spends around $120 per year on tampons, according to an estimation by Jezebel. For some women, it’s no big deal, but for women living in poverty, especially women with daughters who are also menstruating, that cost makes a huge difference. The women’s shelter can provide these women with the supplies they need.

Tampon Tuesday will start at City High next Tuesday, September 13th, with a bake sale in the lobby, and will happen the first Tuesday of every month after September. Talk to seniors Elise Heck, Elisa Swanson, Hannah Murray, Eleanor Mildenstein, and me, Genevieve Wisdom, or junior Elizabeth Tornblom if you have any questions or would like to help.