Two summers ago during an internship in the Howard County Executive’s office, Isha Ande had to scramble for a solution.
While in the bathroom, Ande said she found out she was on her period. She hoped there were products available and noticed there was a machine offering them for 25 cents. But she didn’t have a quarter.
Instead, Ande called her mom and asked her to drop the products off.
The experience prompted Ande to launch the Period Club at Mount Hebron High School. The club, now in its second year, has five members. It’s untraditional, only meeting when opportunities or issues arise.
After securing grants and winning competitions, the club has paid to supply the county’s six public libraries with pads and tampons.
“I realized that something that women need, something that they can’t go on about their day without, is kind of taken away from them through either the barrier of money or just not even having these products available,” Ande said.
Initially, the group testified before local leaders and advocated for funding for feminine products to be included in the most recent budget. The hope, Ande said, was for the budget to have funding to cover products in all public buildings across the county.
But, “this was always our backup plan if that didn’t work,” Ande said.
The club won a Maryland Youth Advisory Council grant and participated in a competition, helping it raise about $2,750. They worked with the same distributor the school used, buying two boxes of 250 pads and a box of 500 tampons for each library. They’re stored in a bin from Dollar Tree.
Ande said that all cost about one-third of the available funds, so they can replenish the supplies when the libraries run out.
“It is a need, and it’s something that a lot of women don’t have access to or just can’t afford,” Ande said. “Having this accessibility is super duper important.”
The club, Ande said, “does make a lot of change, and we do really try to work hard and make an effort to have a lasting impact on our community.”
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