Red Box Project

NanKate, thank you for posting about this.

I had not heard of this, but just Googled "Red Box Project" and found that there is a collection point in our town, so shall pop along soon, and ask what is needed most.

Wonderful idea

Thanks AuntieFlo for supporting this charity. It seems sad in this day and age some girls have trouble getting the sanitary protection they need.

I can't comprehend that £4/5 pm is unaffordable.
Most households, even thise on benefits, have Netflix/Sky and multiples of mobile phones etc yet can't afford the basics for their children.
How about chasing absentee fathers? How about not having children you can't afford (and yes, it happens all the time)
How about buying fewer takeaways or giving up beer/cigarettes?

thise those

Agree with Gabriella. I've priced supermarket's own sanitary protection and they are less than £1 a packet! In this day and age and in this country?

I understand what you are saying but nevertheless some girls miss school because of not having sanitary protection. It’s wrong, it’s sad and I am going to do what I can with the help and generosity of my WI chums. We also contribute at Food Banks and for women in refuges.

I agree that today some parents smoke, drink and have big tellies which they put as their priorities in life.

I can remember in the 1960s all the hassle of periods when we were given rags to pin in our knickers and having to wash them at home. It was dreadful and if there is anything I can do to help young girls in need I will do it.

As you can see I feel strongly about this. Anyone one doesn’t want to get involved with this Project in our WI is not pressured in any way.

I have supported this project for the past few months. The local one has enough stock till next year so has taken away the box. The Government were putting in place money for schools to provide free sanitary towels etc Not heard anymore about it since. Our box also put in pants and socks for all school ages. All gratefully received x

ps, many girls start their period at school, this emergency box supports them in their time of need x

I don't see the need for this Would rather help a necessary charity.

Agree with Ngaiol... sanitary products can be bought so cheaply

Hmm, I don’t remember any of our year ever missing school because they could not afford sanitary protection. Are there charity collections to provide young teenage boys with shaving gear? Surely a month’s supply of razors and gel are more expensive than a week’s supply of pads and I don’t know of any school that allows pupils to keep beards.

How about chasing absentee fathers?
That would be great, GabriellaG54 if it actually got anywhere. I understand the government are now writing off lots of CSA debts that they don't think they can collect.

"If it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to collect any of the debt, we’ll write it off and send you and the other parent a letter."

Kate, I think it's a wonderful idea.
I worked in a primary school in an area of extreme deprivation, where we had a supply of sanitary products, pants and tights.
Young girls were starting their periods at nine and ten.
We had children sleeping on mattresses on bare floorboards, with very little furniture, let alone having a television on which to watch Netflix.
Unless you have witnessed first hand the poverty some children are living in, you cannot imagine the misery of their lives.
Whether or not parents are good at managing their finances, young girls should not have to suffer the humiliation of not having sanitary products!

I'm far from unsympathetic as young people depend on their parents, especially girls and young women at that time in tbeir lives.
My stumbling block is that the more we do the less parents will do.
Food banks, sanitary products, breakfast in school...we're the 5th richest country in the world (so we're told) yet we prop up families who abdicate their responsibilities and rely on the state...you and me, the people who graft or have grafted and manage our income responsibly.
I saw a programme about bailiffs where a 20 something 'comfortable' woman answered the door and started whinging when she saw who it was. Not paid her rent for almost a year 'due to depression'. Pulled out an iphone from under her breast and phoned her mum, baby crying, house a mess, bare stairs, huge tv blaring away, dishes on floor, clothes piled up all over the place and pack of cigarettes on a chair.
This is the sort of thing I'm against.
If you can't afford to look after yourself and provide basics for your children...what kind of parent are you?
There are circumstances where it certainly isn't the fault of mum or dad but the majority are those who just don't bother and leave it to others who have a social conscience, to fill the gap.
Like foreign aid. The major part never reaches the target and it's been going on for decades +++ and will continue.
We're far too helpful, like giving money or food to addicts who then have more cash to feed their addiction be it drink or drugs. It's enabling in the worst way.

Some info.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/24/scotland-to-offer-free-sanitary-products-to-all-students-in-world-first

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the matter, or who is to blame, the fact is that period poverty and the stigma attached to it, is real and it won't go away anytime soon.

Many thanks Mary and others for your support.

On GN we have all points of view. Thank you for putting your views across without the nastiness we sometimes get on other threads.

Just read this.

What a kind and altruistic thing to do.

All power to the WI

Providing free sanitary protection will reach those who need it though. I worked in a girls school 20 odd years ago where there was free pads and tampons so it isn’t actually that new except we are talking about it. We provide toilet paper so why not a sanitary pad ? Neglectful and chaotic families won’t suddenly start taking responsibility if just left to their own devices, their children should be helped if only in a small way.

Gabriella, arguing the need for it and blaming feckless parents does nothing to help the girls. Nobody gets to choose their parents. Some, for various reasons (selfishness, mental illness, addictions etc.) just fail to provide the necessities for their kids.

One of my daughters started aged 10. The school were totally unprepared and sent her home ill. Does anyone remember the panic of an unexpected period at school and no towels at hand? Luckily, we had a school nurse (in high school) who always had some and our mother, although disturbed, kept supplies for us.

Even at 17, when I left home, I was too embarrassed to actually buy towels (the local chemist had a male pharmacist) - so, for quite some time, I bought cotton wool instead.

Some parents are unable or unwilling to use their income in a way many of us would "approve" of. However, this should not mean that a young girl, maybe only 10 years old, is made to feel embarrassed, ashamed and unable to go to school.

Of course it is a parental responsibility. But how much better that we actually help that child to stay in school, hear her lessons, and hopefully ensure she has a better future.

Just an update. I delivered the Red Box to a local school yesterday. They were thrilled that through the generosity of my WI any disadvantaged girl in their school would be able to access sanitary products free of charge.

From January 2020 the Government say they will provide these products to all Primary, Secondary Schools and Colleges.

A result. ?

I will look this up and support it. We provide sanitary products at the food bank and with some families every penny counts, a choice of money for electric or food etc. and not all who need help are reckless.