Share the Dignity is an Australian charity which works to help disadvantaged people, particularly women. The #Dignity Drive focuses on providing sanitary items so that 'No woman should suffer the indignity of choosing between eating or buying sanitary items.'
The Goods and Services Tax has (finally) been removed from sanitary products but they are still not cheap. A local real estate agent acts as a collection point, and it is a drive I am very happy to support.
We are asked to contribute new and unopened sanitary items such as pads, tampons, cups and incontinence products for distribution to those in need to ensure that everyone is afforded the dignity in life than many of us take for granted.
McCann's (a local real estate agent) is acting as a collection agent. Sadly our lockdown has meant that their office is closed and I had to hunt for somewhere else I could take my contribution (while not breaching the lockdown provisions).
I
hope that when our lockdown gets lifted (at this stage at the middle of
this month) businesses will continue to collect and distribute (despite
the drive officially finishing at the end of last month).
Sadly at the
moment it seems that dignity is another loss that we can chalk up to
Covid. We are all in this together, but we are emphatically not all in the same boat.
Thank you for once more highlighting a pressing need in society the world over. If men had to pay for sanitary products every month for 35-40 years (pricey products at that) I very much doubt we would still be in this situation. Kudos to you for including the cups in your donation this year. They can reduce the need for other products substantially, from what I hear, and they are a good choice for the environment at the same time.
ReplyDeleteYour heart is very big, my friend.
jenny_o: Thank you. I was glad to find the menstrual cups, but appalled at the price. If you are struggling to put food on the table than these would be out of the question.
DeleteGood on you.
ReplyDeleteSean Jeating: How I wish it wasn't necessary - the world over.
DeleteThis is a great cause. I made washable sanitary products for women in Africa a while back, dire need, especially for schoolgirls who miss school due to lack of.
ReplyDeleteYour cause is excellent and I am so happy about the cup. I could be wrong here but Daughter told me they last much longer than a few years.
I will check to see if I can provide locally, and thanks for this EC!
XO
WWW
Wisewebwoman: I hope they DO last longer than the literature (no doubt written by manufacturers) suggests. I noticed in a recent Medecins Sans Frontieres newsletter they were suggesting 'period underwear'. Again out of the price range for far too many.
DeleteBuon venerdi.
ReplyDeleteGiancarlo: And to you.
DeleteWe constantly have drives for sanitary products here, too. Jesus, among many others, said The poor will always be among you. I'd suppose people of conscience would find more than abortion to spend energy on.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Noragon: Much, much more to spend energy on. And it is lovely to see you back in the blogosphere. I hope your move went smoothly and you are not tooo tired.
DeleteThere is something fundamentally wrong when billionaires can take vanity flights into space and women lack these basic essential items.
ReplyDeleteDavid M. Gascoigne: Yes.
DeleteThis is a great cause
ReplyDeleteAzka Kamil: I think so too.
DeleteAzka Kamil: I deleted your second comment as spam since it was merely a partial copy and paste from another blogger's contribution.
DeleteI saw something about this a couple of weeks ago, TV news? Newspaper? I don't remember, but they were asking for items to be placed in a small backpack or similar, or maybe I am confused with some other 'drive', but now I'm wondering about the frequency of the drive. Once a year doesn't seem to be enough. I need to google now and find out my nearest collection point because I did buy stuff for it this time.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I know of at least two drives a year, but agree that it needs to be an ongoing commitment. I think that Woolworths is a collection point. Our lockdown has made it all more difficult this time round. Bunnings is often also a collection point too.
Delete"Goods and Services Tax" Taxes on items like that has always been contentious here. And right now I couldn't tell you if they are on or off. They have changed a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteMike: When our GST was introduced, food and medical services were exempt. Sanitary items were not. Hiss and spit.
DeleteThese things are in our schools apparently for the young girls. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteMargaret D: It is an excellent idea but I worry for the older women as well.
DeleteHello dear!
ReplyDeleteI could never understand why women's sanitary products are so expensive. It's nature, we have no influence on it, we still have to pay for it. Maybe someday it will be different.
Greetings from Poland!
Ayuna: I suspect that if it was men who menstruated sanitary products would have been free for a very long time. As they should be.
DeleteThank you for putting this front-and-centre again.
ReplyDeleteThis year I did not have a little stockpile (moving 20 years of household ***#!!*** took up rather a lot of time and space!
But it is still much, much easier for me to add a few things to my weekly shopping than for too many women.
I'm very tempted to send a small package to The Lodge...
dinahmow: The only package I would like to send to the Lodge would contain a small nuclear device.
DeleteFor non-Australian readers...Google will probably tell you about the Order of Masons, should you wonder what I referred to. In Australia, The Lodge, unless specified Masonoic, is the official residence of the serving Prime Minister.
ReplyDeletedinahmow: I am v glad that the current incumbent is only an occasional visitor to my city.
DeleteThat´s a lot of money. Great you help.
ReplyDeleteI think I am "out", not sure if to laugh or cry. I think (?) I don´t need these things no more. Wish there were instructions on your body.
Iris Flavia: I am also very glad that those days are in the past. Like dinahmow I find it much easier to add a few things to my shopping each week than so many other women.
DeleteHi EC - thanks for highlighting this oh so essential need in a woman's life. I see occasional articles about these products for refugee camps, and I'm sure in each continent the need is there. One does wonder what men and leaders think about ... I will look into a charity here that I can donate something to.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for reminding us about these items ... after all if we didn't need them, there'd be no men in this world.
Stay safe and all the best in these trying times. Hilary
Hilary Melton-Butcher: I had never looked at it that way before but you are right. If the need for these products didn't exist then there would indeed be no men. Unless of course women were kept permanently pregnant. Shudder.
DeleteDear EC
ReplyDeleteSuch a good cause, albeit one that shouldn't be necessary, but one that should be supported. Some Boots shops in the UK (although not in Lincolnshire, oddly) have linked to 'The Hygiene Bank' and you can donate goods in their shops. The Trussell Trust also accepts food and toiletries, so I will make some enquiries and get donating! Thank you for the reminder.
Have a good weekend
Best wishes
Ellie
Ellie Foster: The Hygiene Bank is a wonderful term. I love that anyone can make deposits there too. And thank you for your support.
DeleteIt's good to think about how to directly help, where every cent you spend goes to those who need help.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: I am increasingly leaning towards donations in kind rather than money where it is possible. I resent it when money I donate is swallowed up in administration costs.
DeleteMy wife and I donate sanitary needs- as well as food items, of course- to local places. we just dropped of several bags at our local bank branch to support flood victims. It's sad to think that such necessities are thought of as luxuries in some places.
ReplyDeletepresstfortime: Thank you. I am appalled that people have to choose between food and sanitary items. Wrong, wrong and wrong.
DeleteMargaret mentioned the one that seems to get much advertising in Melbourne- schools and the need for tampons. But I tend to think of the older ladies who prefer pads and add some to my shop now and again to drop off at another similar nearby charity (Pinchapoo)
ReplyDeleteEven though Pinchapoo concetrates on young school girls they also work with homeless organisations.
DeleteCathy: I am with you on that. I included pads, liners, tampons and the cups in my donation.
DeleteHopefully the crazy lockdowns don't hurt the drive and people continue to give.
ReplyDeleteAlex J. Cavanaugh: I hope that people will continue to give - and signs have been positive.
DeleteSuch a good an important cause and very much needed. Things we take for granted like socks, hygiene, and menstrual supplies are so very much needed by those who without funds or homeless. Thanks for continuing to shed a light on this cause, and I hope people give giving. Hugs, RO
ReplyDeleteRO: I believe that they are necessities, and hate that some people are forced to choose between food and sanitary supplies. Hugs to you too.
DeleteYou are such a good person. I give to a local food bank.
ReplyDeleteDJan: I am (thankfully) one of many. Thanks for your contributions.
DeleteI find this unsettling for some reason. There are programs and charities to help people who can not afford groceries. I hope everyone who needs that help can get it. But this focus on these products is hitting me funny. Do you know what I mean? It is as if there is an effort in our world today to enfeeble women.
ReplyDeleteSandi: You have lost me a little here. I think that provision of these products to those who need them is empowering rather than enfeebling. Perhaps you can explain a little more.
DeleteThis is a very late reply. Sorry about that. I think this just hit me funny for some reason. The specific products being given out, rather than just funds for people to do their own shopping, privacy, something like that.
DeleteSandi: Do you have the same problems with Food Banks? I do see what you mean, but the women get the choice of which products they would like to use - which I think is a win.
DeleteNo. I think food banks are good.
DeletePeople going in like it is grocery store and just getting what they need sounds good. Handing out these specific products, even if they choose which ones, is what struck me. I suppose if they just went around a store-like place and got food and whatever else and these things also it would seem less intrusive. I don't even know how you give these products to them. I was just picturing it.
DeleteSandi: As far as I am aware it works just like a food bank and people come in and select what they need, when they need it. When we emerge from lockdown I will ask and get back to you.
DeleteSuch a great idea. I saw an article about food banks too and what they need that I have never donated. That will change.
ReplyDeleteMarie Smith: It took a Dignity Drive a while back to bring this issue to my attention. And then it hit my privileged self like a ton of bricks.
Delete👍🏼
ReplyDeleteR's Rue: Thank you.
DeleteThat is a terrific cause to support, EC!
ReplyDeleteStrayer: I think so too.
DeleteBuon fine settimana
ReplyDeleteGiancarlo: Thank you.
DeleteWe can donate such items to the food bank here, they are always glad to receive them and distribute them very quickly.
ReplyDeletemessymimi: I am glad to hear that your food bank accepts them - and bet that they do disappear quickly.
DeleteGreat cause...
ReplyDeleteaussie aNNie: And sadly necessary.
DeleteThis is a wonderful cause. I will see if my food bank accepts these products. Thanks.
ReplyDeletee: I hope they will. I am sure (sadly) that the need exists world-wide.
DeleteI've never heard of a menstrual cup, but I think this is a very worthy cause. I now feel ashamed to use some of my tampons to spread ink through stencils. The next time I buy a box, I'll buy two instead and take a box to our woman's shelter. You have inspired me, EC!
ReplyDeleteBleubeard and Elizabeth: I hadn't heard of menstrual cups before the flyer for a Dignity Drive dropped into our letter box some years ago. I was glad to finally track them down.
DeleteFeel no guilt. Our local supermarket has a sign up which says 'buy two. One for you, and one for them'. They (and I) applaud you.
I have never heard of a menstrual cup either.
ReplyDeleteBut what a great cause. Our local stores all have collection boxes specifically for donating sanitary products. I think it is a fantastic idea. As you so rightly say, food or sanitary items...women just shouldn't have to make that choice.🙁
Have a good week, dearest Sue!
Much love and hugs ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Ygraine: I wish that our local stores had such collection boxes - all year round and not just when the Dignity Drive is running.
DeleteYou have certainly opened some eyes here with this reminder. Thank you. I never imagined that food would not be enough. Good cause. xo
ReplyDeleteJ C: It was an eye opener for me when I saw that first flyer a few years ago. And sadly made complete sense. In my younger days the cost of these items was a significant issue.
DeleteAll can wish on there, the richer, and poor.
ReplyDeleteBob Bushell: Thank you.
DeleteI wouldn't have thought, what a great cause and thank you for letting everyone know.
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: Isn't it a great cause - and I do love the name. Dignity is precious.
DeleteEs una buena labor la que desempeñas. Hay que ayudar a las personas desfavorecidas y aportarles las cosas necesarias, para que puedan conservar la salud.
ReplyDeleteVENTANA DE FOTO: Isn't it a great cause? All praise to those who thought of it, started it and promote it.
DeleteAn excellent cause. I hope it's well-supported. I didn't realize those cups were so expensive, but they certainly seem like a good product. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with THAT anymore!
ReplyDeleteDiane Henders: Like you I am very glad that this problem is no longer mine. Many years ago a doctor told me that women LIKED to get their periods because it meant that they were a woman. He was wrong. Very wrong.
DeleteI just scoffed so loudly I think I hurt myself. (And I notice the doctor was male. I wonder what other BS he believed about women.)
DeleteDiane Henders: I was young at the time (13?) but very glad that I was able to recognise his crap as just that. I fear he entertained other delusions too. He was our family doctor and I continued to see him for a while but kicked him to the curb as soon as I could.
DeleteSuper post
ReplyDeleteRajani Rehana: Thank you. Great cause.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteRECOMENZAR: I have deleted your comment because it has no relevance to this post.
DeleteHere in the UK we have similar.
ReplyDeleteMany stores do have collection boxes for sanitary products as well as food donations, and people are very generous.
All the best Jan
Lowcarb team member~Jan: Thank you. I am glad that people in the UK are generous - and deplore the necessity.
DeleteA great cause, but it's sad that it's needed! Big Hugs!
ReplyDeleteMagic Love Crow: I am in total agreement. It IS a great cause - and how I wish it was unnecessary.
DeleteNice article, thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDelete