Contact:
Tara Bruley
Be Prepared Period
425-344-9876
info@bepreparedperiod.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Be Prepared. Period. Together With Girls Helping Girls. Period Partners With LA-Based Share A Meal To Provide Menstrual Care Kits To Those In Need
LOS-ANGELES NON-PROFIT DISTRIBUTES ORGANIC HIGH-QUALITY MENSTRUAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS ENABLING BOTH A MEANS TO GET BACK ON THEIR FEET & BASIC DIGNITY
July 21, 2020, SEATTLE – Be Prepared. Period, a platform for girls, women and parents on all things menstrual, together with Girls Helping Girls. Period., a non-profit supporting families by providing them with essential menstrual hygiene items, helping them succeed by staying in school and at work, have partnered with Share A Meal, a Los Angeles non-profit that prepares fresh meals for people experiencing homelessness and hunger, with the goal of raising $3500 in order to provide 1000 menstrual care packages to women living on the streets of Los Angeles. The fundraiser runs through the month of July ending on July 31, 2020.
Period poverty is not a problem relegated to less developed countries. According to a study by Always, a brand of menstrual products, lack of access to these products keeps 1 out of 5 girls out of school during their monthly cycle. Additionally, because these products are not covered by food stamp programs, many women miss work because they don’t have the supplies they need. Women in the US spend $75 – $125 a year on these types of products. For women living on the streets, they are a luxury. Be Prepared. Period. has launched a nationwide program to address the issue. By joining forces with Girls Helping Girls. Period, their goal is to raise enough money to allow Share A Meal – who already provide those in need with meals, to also distribute menstrual kits to the people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.
As a mother of a daughter navigating puberty, Tara Bruley, Founder of BePreparedPeriod.com, was frustrated by the lack of resources on the market to mark the special time as well as educate. Be Prepared. Period. has gone from a homegrown business to a full throttle online platform that both raises period awareness and ensures girls and their parents are able to readily find the information and resources they need, when they need it. Bruley feels the lack of physical resources for women living on the streets or in shelters is also markedly underserved. Women’s shelters in the U.S. go through thousands of menstrual products monthly and, as one of the most basic needs, these products are often neglected when it comes to donations.
“Every dollar helps. $3.50 provides one person a month’s supply and no woman should have to go a month without the proper resources to care for herself.” Said Bruley. “After years of work trying to help this issue, we are excited to offer pre-packaged menstrual care kits in resealable bags to those in need and to help relieve organizations like Share a Meal from the work and expense of managing teams of volunteers, hosting product drives and repackaging donated product into quantities that can then be distributed. We stretch every donated dollar to the max while producing healthy, organic and biodegradable products unlike the typical bulk product received from Costco or Amazon.”
Although Share A Meal primarily distributes plant-based burritos to people living on the streets in Los Angeles, supplying those people with as many resources as they can is also part of their mission. Food trucks arrive on a regular schedule every weekday at different locations through the city where people experiencing homelessness are concentrated. A network of over a thousand volunteers also offer water, socks, blankets, toiletries, and other necessities.
“Menstrual care products are always in demand and give women living on the streets a basic sense of dignity, so we jumped at the opportunity to partner with Girls Helping Girls Period. and Be Prepared Period. to fundraise for and distribute menstrual kits.” Says Rachel Hood, Marketing/USC Student, Share A Meal. “Our community members have told us that we don’t just serve meals, we also restore faith and trust in humanity. It’s a big responsibility but being able to make a human connection with those in need is incredible.”
Girls Helping Girls. Period. is a volunteer effort started by two teenage sisters from New Jersey. After volunteering at a local food pantry, they learned of the critical need for menstrual products. The organization took on a life of its own when the girls threw a party and asked their guests to bring pads or tampons in order to donate them. Their mission has grown into donating a year’s supply of products to girls and women in need.
“We are thrilled to be able to use our partnership with Be Prepared. Period. to get products to those in need all across the country.” said Elise Joy, Executive Director, Girls Helping Girls. Period.
“ShareAMeal is doing tremendous outreach in Los Angeles and we are happy to both share their work with our followers and support them in a fundraiser that will allow them to distribute desperately needed menstrual items to their clients.”
Donors are increasingly being more conscientious about wanting to provide eco-friendly and healthy products to donate. The donation kits from Be Prepared. Period. are made of organic cotton and provide a healthy mindful alternative to bulk deals and inferior products.
Be Prepared. Period. is looking to cultivate the program in hopes of making it easy for other local organizations, like Share a Meal, to be able to distribute products, with minimal effort as time, energy and budget are limited resources among non-profit organizations. Donations to Share A Meal can be made directly via the fund-raiser page on the Be Prepared. Period. website here. Organizations wishing to partner for similar outreach programs in their area are encouraged to reach out to Be Prepared. Period.
For more information please call 425-344-9876 or email info@bepreparedperiod.com.
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About Be Prepared. Period.
BePreparedPeriod.com is a web-based resource for girls, women and parents on all things menstrual. Designed to provide the maximum amount of support, it offers a library of resources that include helpful articles, quizzes, downloadable guides, educational series, a “PeriodTalk” forum to facilitate open menstrual conversation as well as a convenient online store that offers period kits and other eco-friendly production options. Seattle-area mom Tara Bruley founded the business when guiding her daughter through puberty but quickly grew the business to help the vast array of menstrual concerns she found from girls and women of all ages.
About Girls Helping Girls. Period.
Girls Helping Girls. Period. is a 501(c)(3) family-run organization that collects monetary and product donations to help low-income families struggling to afford basic menstrual supplies. GHGP works with schools, food pantries and social services agencies in the NJ-NY-CT area and across the country through its network of ambassadors.
About Share A Meal
Share A Meal is a program of Khalsa Peace Corps, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The role of Khalsa Peace Corps is to be a platform that transforms ones’ higher conscience into daily actions of service and sharing. Share A Meal’s mission is to build caring communities through mobile kitchens selflessly sharing meals and basic necessities with the underserved.