At yesterday’s meeting, we did a LOT!
In addition to outlining three big fundraisers and product drives, we cut out dozens and dozens of pieces of future menstrual pad inserts to send to House of Hope Haiti.
See the entire HOH story here.
Be on the lookout for our National Women’s History Month promos and fundraisers:
On Tuesday, Feb. 5, We Gotchya was presented with a $100 donation from Maryville’s philanthropic group, Today’s Civic Women. We can’t express how grateful we are for not only the monetary donation, but mostly the support for our group.
TCW’s purpose is: To promote community and individual development and fellowship among its members. It supports causes such as Toys for Tots, Camp Quality, and Relay for Life. It’s an honor to be supported by such an established, community-focused group.
On Feb. 15, we stocked the Food Pantry at Northwest Missouri State University with a supply of tampons, pads and pantyliners and topped off baskets in the Union, Library and Administration Building.
Since adding new signs to the baskets, we believe we’re seeing more participation in filling baskets. This change is significant, as it will allow We Gotchya to focus monetary and product efforts on supplying the Food Pantry, helping women at House of Hope Haiti, and supply other Maryville social services, which is our long-term goal.
Information about Maryville’s Today’s Civic Women can be found at this Nodaway News volunteer page and also at the group’s Facebook page.
Thank you TCW!
Northwest Missouri State University’s coordinator of diversity and inclusion, Gabrielle Fields, tells the St. Joseph News-Press why the We Gotchya feminine product supply program is important: “It alleviates the pressure of trying to stay within the time management that we’re teaching the students,” Fields said, explaining that the nature of periods is sometimes unexpected. Students shouldn’t have to get back in their cars, lose their parking place, just to drive home to get a tampon. “We Gotchya!”
Fields continued, “If there’s a sticker on a door, you can go to that employee and say, ‘Hey, you got me?’ and we say, ‘Yeah, we gotchya!’ ”
If you need a supply or want to donate a supply, look for the We Gotchya sticker on faculty and staff doors.
When we saw this post on LittleThings.com, we could totally relate: A sanitary products machine in a public bathroom that either isn’t stocked or doesn’t work.
Read the entire story for yourself, but in short, this story is about a woman who paid $15 for a box of tampons at the Calgary International Airport. Calgary! We expected more of Canada, which usually seems to put the needs of Canadians front and center.
In this case, Carlee left a note for the next victims. Little did she realize that her note would be read by women around the world, thanks to another bathroom visitor who posted this photo online.
The sign she left in the ladies’ room reminds us of our sharing baskets at Northwest Missouri State University. In both cases, a biological need is overlooked, and women step in to help one another.
The We Gotchya Crew supports an institutional supply of feminine products in public areas, akin to toilet paper.
We believe in alternatives to tampons and other disposables, such as reusable cotton pads and cups. But in public areas, when a woman is menstruating, these disposable products are a must.
Let’s make them available.
We Gotchya began at Northwest Missouri State University and began spreading through the Maryville, MO, community.
Read a bit about the origins of the group in this press release from the university.
We Gotchya! 