Reaching Refugees (This is the official Days for Girls Announcement)
We are so excited to announce that we have partnered with Convoy of Hope. With their help, we will be sending 8000 DfG Supreme Kits to Haiti for emergency response and 3600 DfG Kits will be distributed to Afghan refugees coming to the United States! Because of our USA Chapters’ and Teams’ generosity in sending sewn components and Kits to our Collection Points in Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Utah, we have the sewn components for these 11,600 Kits. Our Special Project Coordinators are busy filling this request! We are excited to send out updates as they become available.
Pittsburgh Chapter Collection Point
This is what our sewing room looked like right after our last DfGI project sending kits to Chad and Nicaragua. Every inch was stuffed with components. We estimated we got three times as much as we needed for the Chad and Nicaragua project. Components continued to come even after the project wrapped.
Everything that wasn’t a fit for purpose sewn component went to at-home-sewists for repairs. We cleaned out closets that used to hold material and sent it home with team members who could prep it for sewing and drop it off to at-home-sewists. Our team met weekly to check components from other teams, sorted what needed to be repaired into homework bags, and packed the rest into partial kits (no underwear or drawstring bag).
1,000 kits fit in each closet.
We decided to do this so that we could put the size requested into the kits when the next project happened… which we hoped would be soon.
In the time between the Chad/Nicaragua project and the Haiti/Afghan Refugee project kept in touch with DFGI and we looked for local partners to distribute some of the kits. #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod
We connected with our regional representative and sent some kits to Philadelphia to be distributed to local shelters Luckily this included components that were not fit for other distributions. #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod
Our friends at Period Pittsburgh who usually distribute disposable pads and tampons agreed to work with their clients and see who was willing to try reusable. #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod
We got an email from a high school student who couldn’t afford pads and since school was out she didn’t have access to free ones from her school. We sent her a kit and a few disposables. She loved the kit! #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod
We connected with an enterprise in Costa Rica and were able to send them PUL, sharp needles, and a Spanish flip chart. Even though they didn’t need components from us this time, we hope to remain connected so that when they need them they know to ask. #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod
We connected with a woman who was in town to renew her visa and visit family. We connected her with an enterprise in country (Ecuador) and sent her home with material, pods, and snaps to share with them. She let them stay in her home and traveled with them to a remote village to distribute kits. They are planning another project together soon. #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod
Even with our local efforts our sewing room (really storage room) was still bursting at the seems.
We were “sew” thrilled when the DfGI Haiti/Afghan Refugee project came up! We did request underwear, washcloths, and soap to make kits from the components we still had on hand. Our chapter also spent quite a bit of our funds on underwear too. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our neighbors, friends, family, and other DfG teams/chapters/clubs. Because of the generosity of the teams/chapters who sewed more than what was needed for the Chad/Nicaragua project and all of those who helped with the other components of the kits we were able to reach more menstruators than we could have on our own.
#EverygirlEverwherePeriod
This is the last night of packing. We still have lots of extra components (mostly shields and liners) but we are so glad that the majority of the components are now one their way to women and girls who need them.
For those of you saying, “I thought I donated to the Chad project. Where did my donation really go?”, let me help you understand what happened. First of all, thank you for your donation. Your donation made it possible to reach more women and girls than we could have every imagined. We are one step closer to #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod because of your help. Secondly, DfGI and the Pittsburgh Chapter have tried to be clear that all donations are used for the current project first and any additional donations will go towards the next project. I apologize if that hasn’t been clear before. I will continue working to make sure that is clear to all of our donors. I do not have a way to confirm the exact place your kits/components went but I can promise it went to someone who needed it. #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod My team checks each donation in the order it was received for quality, sorts the components according to what can be used and what needs to be repaired, we pack everything that can be used as fast as we can, and after that we repair what needs to be repaired and use it as needed. We record quality issues for DfGI so that regional reps can contact teams/chapters to help maintain our commitment to making quality kits for #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod. My goal as the leader of the Chapter/Collection point is to help other teams/chapters/clubs/individuals make connections with DfG kits/components that none of us would be able to do alone. It is a challenging and inspiring job. #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod
To be clear, my goal is to help #EveryGirlEverywherePeriod.
You can follow the Pittsburgh Chapter on instagram @dfg_pgh or Like our Facebook page to get more pictures of these inspiring projects!
Make a monetary donation to The Pittsburgh Chapter or to Days for Girls International or purchase needed materials from amazon wish list or a JoAnn Fabric Gift Card, and arrange for a safe drop off. Wish list items can be shipped directly to Third Church.
#EveryGirlEverywherePeriod
Period Pastor Pad 