Can you afford to donate sanitary items to the Dignity Drive this week?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Share the Dignity is urging locals to pitch in and assist women experiencing poverty or homelessness this August.
There are a number of Shoalhaven businesses with dropboxes on site.
“The donations we receive during August have to provide pads and tampons through until May next year,” Share the Dignity volunteer Jeanine Leyshon said.
“Donations have been very slow so far. The service we provide is highly sought after among the local charities with their needs far outweighing our collections. It seems to be worsening with the effect of the drought now looming large.”
Share the Dignity is about helping people who are in real need. Homelessness and family violence are big challenges for most communities and people can make a real difference close to home with small acts of kindness.
They are delighted to support this campaign by providing their business as collection points for donated pads, tampons and personal hygiene products. Just look for the pink collection boxes.
Where to leave donations
Chemist Warehouse locations in Nowra, Shoalhaven Library, Shoalhaven Women’s Health Centre, Ramsay Pharmacy, Junction Street Family Practice, Red Orchid, Australian Hearing Services, Jervis Bay Lifestyle Real Estate, Huskisson Pharmacy, Berry Pharmacy, IGA Berry, That Hair and Beauty Place in Sanctuary Point, Echidna Early Learning Centre and Woolworths Vincentia.
Share the Dignity information
On any given night, over 45,000 Australian women are homeless and sadly this number is constantly rising.
One of the biggest issues faced by these displaced women, is the fact that they don’t have access to safe, hygienic sanitary products.
Share the Dignity is a charity organisation founded by Rochelle Courtenay that seeks to provide the basic essentials for women and girls in crisis by sending the call out for unopened packets of pads, tampons and personal hygiene products to distribute to women nationwide.
Ms Courtenay said the drive helps in some small way to alleviate the undignified situation thousands of women have to endure – forced to make a choice between buying food or buying feminine hygiene products.
“So many women, every month, have to forfeit sanitary products because they cannot afford them,” she said.
“Many mothers have to choose between buying tampons and feeding their children.
“Girls miss out on school simply because their families cannot afford to buy the basic necessities.
“When you donate sanitary products to Share the Dignity, you’re donating much more than pads and tampons, you’re giving a woman experiencing homelessness or financial crisis the essentials, so she doesn’t need to choose between food and dignity.
“Next time you’re doing your shopping, keep in mind: one box for me, one box for her.”