Bring the Basics. Period.
Zonta Club of Madison kicked off a service project called Bring the Basics.Period in November, 2019. The campaign was a great success and we want to thank all of the people involved.
Zonta Club of Madison’s mission is to empower women and girls through service and advocacy.
This was Zonta Club of Madison’s 2019 major service project.
Did you know?
Did you know that there are many women and girls who miss days of work or school for as much as one week each month because they do not have access to pads and tampons?
Imagine fifth-grader Layla. She lives in a small apartment with her Mom and two older sisters. Layla’s Mom works a full -time job but finds it difficult to stretch her paycheck to cover rent and utilities. If her car breaks down or there is an unexpected trip to the doctor with one of the girls, she comes up short. She reluctantly relies on food pantries occasionally to make sure they have enough food to get through until payday.
Period products are expensive and are not readily available at food banks, shelters, schools and other places with high need. When families are struggling to put food on the table, it may be difficult to find the extra money for period supplies. With four females in the household, this is no small expense.
That’s why students like Layla and her sisters miss school when they have their period. It is easier to stay home than to face potential embarrassment at school.
Sadly, Layla’s family is not alone.
According to a 2017 study by Always®, a brand of period products, period poverty means that 1 in 5 U.S. girls miss school during their monthly cycle.
Zonta Club of Madison surveyed 20 different agencies in the Madison area that offer services for those in need. The response? Almost every agency in our community expressed a strong need for products.
These are some of the local organizations that received products
- Recipient organizations to date include:
● The Road Home - ● Salvation Army Women’s Shelter
● Madison College
● 4 Community Schools
● Unidos
● Personal Essential Pantries
● WIS Cares
● Freedom Inc.
● Demeter Foundation
● Healing House
Zonta’s service committee organized the collection and distribution of period products. The bought, collected and delivered period products to local agencies that serve families in need. The Club is hoping to honor the 100 Champions at a special event as soon as the pandemic is over.
Zonta’s 100 Champions!
Zonta’s 100 Champions?
In honor of Zonta’s 100th anniversary, The Zonta Club of Madison asked community members to become a 100 Zonta Champion. These people pledged to collect 100-period products through their friends, book clubs, organizations, churches, neighborhoods, offices or workplaces.
You rallied your friends, groups or coworkers, and collected 100 boxes or bags of pads or tampons!. We gathered and distributed those supplies to area schools and agencies in need.
In exchange, you earned a Zonta 100 Champions certificate, the appreciation of worthy local organizations and the knowledge that you have helped women and girls to be their best by providing them opportunities to go to work and school without worrying that they don’t have basic period supplies.
The Club is hoping to honor the 100 Champions at a special event as soon as the pandemic is over.
Our kickoff at Madison’s Women’s Weekend was a success!
Bring the Basics. Period.
We kicked off our Bring the Basics. Period. project at the Brava Women’s Weekend Event November 23 and 24th, 2019 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. We collected hundreds of donations of sanitary pads and tampons which we donated to area agencies that serve those in need.
Help Us Celebrate Our Donors!
Madison Bollywood Dance and American Family Insurance
A HUGE Shout out and Thank You to the ladies of Madison Bollywood Dance who generously donated ONE THOUSAND Dollars to Zonta’s Bring the Basics, Period project! This purchased a lot of menstrual products for community organizations! But it gets better! American Family Insurance matched their donation with another $1,000! We so appreciate this major boost to our year long 2019-20 project!
Susan Ballard and Sonia Spencer at Mendota Community School, one of the recipients of products purchased with donations.
SSMHealth Community Partner’s Breakfast
Zonta’s Bring the Basics. Period project would like to send a big Thank You to Jenn Ellestad and @ssmhealthwi St. Mary’s Hospital for collecting FIFTY FIVE boxes of menstrual products at their Community Partner’s Breakfast! Those necessities are already in the hands of organizations supporting those in need. Much Appreciated!
Madison Hash House Harriers
Another community donation to Bring the Basics, Period! This time from Madison Hash House Harriers attending their annual running club Solstice Burn! THANK YOU MHHH and Linda Lindstrom Aten!
Helen Marks Dicks and Susan Fadness Tea and Trees Party
Thank you so much Helen Marks Dicks and Susan Fadness for an amazing Tea and Trees party. Your guests were so generous donating period products for the Zonta Club of Madison’s Bring the Basics. Period. Project. Thank you!!
Bleed Shamelessly
Wow! Look at what Bleed Shamelessly organizers collected for Zonta’s Bring the Basics. Period!! Too many to fit in one car! The products stocked shelves where they are desperately needed! Thank you for your amazing support!
Meet Some of the Bring the Basics Recipients!
Madison Community Schools
This is Rosalia Gittens, Community School Resource Coordinator for Leopold Elementary School, gratefully receiving a delivery of 45 big boxes of Bring the Basics -Period products on Tuesday! These were some of the supply collected by Bleed Shamelessly. Rosalia said “Your timing is perfect!” They had gotten very low on their supply of period products in their pantry. Your donations make such a difference in people’s lives!
Lake View School Recently shared the following on their Facebook page:
Thanks to a large donation from Zonta Club of Madison, we now have feminine hygiene products in our pantry! They are collecting donations through May 2020 to combat ‘period poverty’ and selected all four Community Schools as recipients of these donations.
As a reminder, the Lake View Elementary School pantry is open Mondays from 2:00-5:00pm and Wednesdays from 3:45-6:00pm, or by appointment.
The Salvation Army
Thanks to community donations to Bring the Basics – Period, the shelves at the Salvation Army’s Women’s Shelter are empty no more! Let’s keep those donations coming!
WISCares
Meet Oxnard the guinea pig, the official “spokesperson” for @WISCares, an organization that provides supportive social services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and veterinary care to their pets!
Amelia brought Oxnard out to officially thank Zonta for the donation of menstrual products delivered on Tuesday!
Personal Essentials Pantry
Bring the Basics. Period” makes another much appreciated delivery of menstrual products, this time to the Personal Essentials Pantry where Lois Roth happily accepted them. Thank you to our community for all your donations!
The Demeter Foundation
From the Demester Foundation’s Facebook page:
Zonta of Madison has generously donated feminine hygiene products for our Welcome Home Kits through their “Bring the Basics. Period.” campaign. Our gratitude to their members for providing such an important product.
UNIDOS
Thanks to community donations to Bring the Basics – Period, the Zonta “Pad Patrol” was able to deliver all these menstrual products to UNIDOS staff for their clients! Let’s keep those donations coming so we can supply more organizations!
Anonymous
“Our female pantry users have been so thankful for the donations and have commented that trying to make their own homemade feminine hygiene products in the past has been unsuccessful and embarrassing (I agree). So please know that Zonta’s efforts in this pilot program truly are making a positive difference in people’s lives.”
Promotional Tools & Templates
Are you interested in hosting an event to gather supplies for organizations in need? Here is a sample template in a Word.doc format, of an invitation to share. Feel free to change it to represent your group and event!
Here is a handout with information about our project that you can modify for your own similar project.
Bring-the-Basics-Flyer 2017-Word.doc. or Bring-the-Basics-Flyer 2017.pdf
If you would like more information about this project please contact us at zontamadisonservice@gmail.com
Check back soon for more information and updates.