HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Period Project Harrisburg will be at the Harrisburg Hilton, located at One North 2nd Street, on Aug. 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. to assemble period packs to be picked up by stakeholders, who will hand out period packs to those in need. These bundles contain about a month's worth of sanitary products.
The Period Project Harrisburg serves the unsheltered and low-income by providing sanitary products that can create a financial burden.
They address period poverty, which is defined on their website as "the fact that monthly menstruation management is a struggle for many individuals globally."
“People struggle because of where they live or what they’re born into, and we can’t expect people to rise up when we’re not giving them the bare minimum," Megan Swope, president of The Period Project Harrisburg, said. "The bare minimum is health care and their dignity and if we give them those tools, which I think everyone deserves, they can do so much more in life.”
The nonprofit has provided thousands of menstrual products to people in need through grassroots donation drives and grant funding. This year's event is funded by the Association of Friends and Family of the Penn State University College of Medicine, who awarded a grant to them last spring.
The event is an initiative of Making Miracles Happen Inc. The organizations are putting on the second annual Day of Impact in light of the current need for sanitary products amid a shortage.
People in need who can't make it to the distribution can also submit a request for materials through The Period Project Harrisburg's website. Monetary donations can be submitted here.