Dr. Shannon Holt, who with support from the Central Kentucky Community Foundation’s Heels Together Initiative spearheaded the creation of the PinkDot Project, says two in five women in the United States cannot afford their own period supplies, something that has become increasingly problematic as costs have risen.
“One in four students can’t afford their supplies, and these students and women, they’re missing school, they’re missing work, and when you can’t go to school and can’t get your education and when you can’t go to work and you can’t pay your bills, it is just kind of an increasingly problematic situation,” Holt says. “Add to that the fact that Kentucky is one of 18 states that still taxes period products as luxury items, and as such they are subject to sales tax.”
The PinkDot Project allows area residents to donate period products for women and girls who cannot afford them. With this week being National Period Poverty Awareness Week, now is a good time to support the project.
“We’re inviting everybody to fill the bins at our 17 drop locations all over the county,” says Beth Avey with the Heels Together Initiative. “We’re also having proclamation signings at Elizabethtown City Council, Radcliff City Council, and Hardin County Fiscal Court, and Vine Grove did it this week for us.”
Products collected in the bins are donated to area schools, churches, and organizations to support women and girls.
“You can drop products in any one of these bins,” Avey says. “You can go to our webpage on the Central Kentucky Community Foundation’s website, and you can shop the Amazon Wish List. You can make a cash donation, and we’ll go shopping for you, or you can host a drive yourself. We’d love to have you take a bin and encourage your customers or your employees to help end period poverty.”
Learn more by visiting the Heels Together Facebook page or www.ckcf4people.org.
