At lifeLEISURE, we believe in championing each & every member of our community & the team at Hazel Grove are no different! Jess & co have showcased our core W.A.T.C.H principles immensely, through their support of women & girls suffering from period poverty.
Period Poverty: The Problem!
The stigma surrounding periods exists & can make everyday life difficult to deal with- now imagine having to choose between ordinary everyday tasks such as eating & buying sanitary products on a regular basis! It’s inconceivable that we would ever have to choose between eating to survive & using the toilet-so why should girls have to make the same choices around using essential sanitary products?
Across The UK we’ve started to see improvements of late, with the newly refurbished toilets at Manchester Piccadilly no longer being pay per use,whilst Scotland now provides free sanitary items to anyone under the age of eighteen at schools & libraries,providing vital support to those in need. Females can’t & don’t choose to have periods, so it is illogical to expect them to pay for them!
Aside from the general public- how do those less fortunate than ourselves deal with their monthly period- without access to provisions & left choiceless in whether they feel clean & ready to face the challenges associated with their menstrual cycle?
Incredibly, 10% of females don’t have the means to afford sanitary items, and 49% of 14-21 year old girls have actually missed a day of education as a direct result of their menstrual cycle, which is not helped by the UK currently imposing a 5% tax on all sanitary items. These statistics are substantially higher in third world countries, with many girls in Sub-Saharan Africa missing as much as 20% of their school YEAR due to a lack of provisions & access to clean water.
What are we doing to help?
It’s very simple! At Life Leisure, We are asking for you to donate sanitary items that can be distributed to local charities across the borough, including food banks and The Wellspring . The response from donors has been overwhelming, with bags full of sanitary items already received!
DONATE DONATE DONATE!
If you can spare them…
We’re also in dire need of reusable sanitary items! These are more expensive- but they can last up to five years when treated correctly,saving period sufferers vast sums of money in the long term, enabling us to provide greater assistance to people in need.
Another option is the menstrual cup, costing roughly £15, but lasting up to 3 years, compared to packet of tampons which only last a month. However, reusable & single use materials are both greatly appreciated as donations.
Our plan…
Our immediate goal is progress from Stockport, into the wider Manchester area by expanding out current project. We already have donation boxes across the majority of our centres* & the next step is to work with local businesses by placing donation boxes in public areas throughout Greater Manchester. This will allow us to collect more sanitary items to donate to the many communities across Manchester.
We’d love to take this as far as we can & spread the message that girls & women across The UK (not just those girls lucky enough to live in Scotland!) should receive the sanitary care items that they need as a basic human right! Girls shouldn’t have to pay for their periods!
We appreciate every single donation,kind word & helping hand that we’ve received! Please help us to stop the stigma & end period poverty in Greater Manchester & beyond.
Thank you for your continued support.
*Donations are accepted at all participating Life Leisure centres, depending on individual centres.