For the third year, students in Prairie High School’s Health Occupations Students of America club, better known as HOSA, recently held a donation drive to collect menstrual products with an underlying goal of destigmatizing the menstrual cycle and what has been dubbed “period poverty,” according to the school’s website.
“The products are one thing,” Melissa ‘Mo’ Levine, HOSA administrator and health sciences teacher, said in the Battle Ground Public Schools newsletter. “The other element is really education around what menstruation is, who menstruates, what it looks like and how much it costs.”
That cost can be a difficult challenge for many students who lack the resources to keep an adequate supply of menstrual products, the newsletter stated.
Washington law requires schools to provide menstrual products, but drive donations help to ensure a wider variety of products and allows the school to create “period packs” for students during summer. The drive is also a conversation starter to destigmatize a subject that often makes people uncomfortable, according to the newsletter.
“I’ve noticed that ‘shame’ around menstruation can even prevent people from donating,” Hannah Huber, senior and HOSA vice president, said in the newsletter. “I’ve had students tell me they don’t want to carry around a box of tampons all day and be seen around school. So just breaking that stigma goes a long way toward increasing donations.”
This year’s drive ended Friday, April 19, but donations are welcome throughout the school year, the newsletter stated. Donations can be dropped off at the school office during business hours at Prairie High School, 11311 NE 119th St., Vancouver.
