You might think that with more than 3.8 billion women in the world, we might be comfortable talking about our periods, right?
That’s far from the case, though. If you doubt it, just Google “nicknames for period,” and in 0.70 seconds, you’ll get 9,500,000 sources that can give you a near-limitless number of words that you can use to avoid saying:
I HAVE MY PERIOD!
So, if grown women still have trouble stating the obvious about their bodies, think for a moment about how hard it is for young girls and teens to talk about.
Now, consider this – one in every five young girls does not have access to the feminine products that she needs to control her period.
That shocking statistic was something that neither Lilly Thompson nor her mother Rebecca had ever considered when the topic first came up in their Team Thompson Homeschool health class.
“Last year around Christmastime, we were getting into that part of health lesson,” recalls Rebecca. “I personally have had a hysterectomy, so my daughter had no experience even with the pad and tampon aisle at the store. I realized that she didn’t know what products even looked like.”
“My mother was not open to me about this topic. Everything was taboo at the time, and I personally wanted different for my children, so they are not embarrassed or ashamed.”
Doing her own research on feminine products, then 10-year-old Lilly landed upon the notion of “period poverty,” or the inability of some young women to purchase the products they need each month.
The reality of period poverty was hard for either Lilly or Rebecca to grasp.
“I personally thought that it was only in third-world countries, but come to find out, that’s not true,” Rebecca says. “Period poverty is a thing everywhere.”
Lilly needed to talk to an expert, so she called Massac County High School and had a frank discussion with the school’s guidance counselor.
“She confirmed that the statistics were true and said that it was actually more like 1 in 3 girls here don’t have what they need,” Lilly says.
“Lilly was getting more concerned about how girls get pads and tampons, and she wanted to do something about it,” Rebecca says.
She decided that she would work to provide her local high school with the supplies it needed to help the girls who needed it most. The Period Project was Lilly’s answer.
“For those girls, if they don’t have the products they need, they won’t go to school, and then they fall behind,” Lilly says. “They aren’t going to tell their friends that they missed school because they had their period and didn’t have what they needed for it. They’ll make an excuse.”
“Research shows that if you offer free feminine products in school bathrooms, the attendance rate of girls goes up by 20 percent.”
Rebecca and Lilly knew that products were often made available to students in the central office, resource center, or nurse’s office, but Rebecca has been a woman and a mom for a long time, and she knew that plan was flawed.
“There is a very high percentage of grown women who hate to ask another grown woman for a pad or tampon because they get embarrassed or ashamed,” she says. “For some reason, we expect these children to walk across the whole school bleeding themselves to the nurse’s office to say they need a pad or tampon.”
“They are not mentally prepared for that. Girls would rather hide in the bathroom or skip school because they are just embarrassed that they don’t have the items they need.”
Lilly began asking her friends and family for donations of feminine products that she could get into these local high school bathrooms, right where girls needed them.
She thought of everything. She developed the idea of providing what she calls a “starter pack” with three liners, three tampons, and three pads that can get a girl through a school day until she can get home. She even houses them in cute pencil bags, so they are discreet.
“It’s not as embarrassing if it’s in a cute little pouch,” she says.
“We made a chart to track how many products we needed, and our first donation goal was 2,000 items. When we donated to Massac, we made a new chart, and then we just gave up on the charts because we had so much we couldn’t keep track of it.”
With one school under her belt and her first goal met, Lilly cast a wider net—expanding her Facebook page to an open group and approaching other local schools. She even created a new offering—establishing a monthly pack that provides a girl all the products she needs to last a full cycle that counselors could provide for girls to take home.
In less than a year, Lilly has collected and donated more than 7,000 feminine products to three local schools and is bringing her fourth school into the program soon.
Just as she was surprised to learn that period poverty was a big problem, Rebecca is now equally surprised to know that her daughter is well on her way to being a big part of its solution.
“We homeschool, and every year we try to have the kids come up with their own mission, something they want to do or try. When it came to this topic, it was something she decided she wanted to do. I told her I would help her, but this was her baby, and she had to put in the work,” Rebecca says.
“I never thought, honestly, that we would make the first goal, but I was determined to be her little sidekick.”
“She started this project when she was 10. It hasn’t even been a full year yet, and to see what she’s accomplished and how many girls she has helped, whether they know it came from her or not, it’s beyond anything as a mother that I could ever be proud of.”
“I almost cry every time she talks about the project – I’m so proud.”
Lilly’s efforts have even inspired one of her friends in Florida to start her own Period Project. For Lilly, her goal is lofty, but it’s squarely in her sights.
“I want to end period poverty, so girls don’t have to worry about it.”
Lilly knows that being a young girl is tough enough, so she’s developed a simple motto for her project:
The last thing a girl should worry about is her period.
Trust us — nearly four billion women around the world agree, Lilly!
Help Lilly Break the Period Poverty Cycle!
If you are interested in helping Lilly achieve her goal of ending period poverty, join “Period Project Team Thompson Homeschool” on Facebook, where you can message Lilly or Rebecca, learn how you can donate through PayPal, or using the Project’s dedicated Amazon link.
Sharing the Project’s Facebook page will help grow the audience and raise awareness of the need.
If you are involved with a local school and want to become part of the Team Thompson Period Project, please reach out to Lilly through Facebook.
