Latter-day Saints Support Days for Girls in Menstrual Health Mission

FRISCO, TX – In North Dallas, women and girls from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints showed up with helpful hands to support Days for Girls International, an award-winning NGO working to diminish the stigma and limitations that come with inadequate menstrual health education and resources. 

More than 500 million women and girls worldwide do not have what they need to manage their periods. In many places, having a period is regarded as shameful. Usually, it means missing school or work for lack of sustainable menstrual care solutions.

Over 100 volunteers gathered this summer at the Church of Jesus Christ meetinghouse in Frisco, Texas, to assemble and create hand-sewn hygiene kits. Many also donated essential supplies and materials. 

One of the project organizers, Deborah South, said, “Days for Girls is an amazing organization that I have been involved with for five years. The work they do is so important in helping girls and women. By supplying the items needed to manage their periods and offering education about safety, health, and hygiene, Days for Girls directly impacts the lives of women all over the world.”

The volunteer team successfully assembled 165 kits during the event, with 281 kits in progress. They also incorporated 112 donated components into their work. 

These components will be sent to a Days for Girls collection point. There, they will merge with other teams’ components to create complete kits. From there, they will be sent to where they see a need anywhere worldwide.

“Participating in the Days for Girls project was so rewarding,” said volunteer Lisa Taylor. “It’s always fun to gather with other women and chat while our hands are busy, but to be busy creating kits for girls that might otherwise miss out on opportunities without them made it all the sweeter. I loved the positivity and feeling of sisterhood in the room. It was like an assembly line of love.” 

Volunteers were invited to watch videos depicting the dire circumstances of women worldwide who lack the resources and education to manage menstruation. Many are relegated to sitting on boxes or hiding in shacks during their period. Young girls fall behind in education as they miss up to nine weeks of school per year.

Nicole Parker said, “It was a great experience learning how to make the items for Days for Girls. I loved learning how much it means to these girls and women who receive the packets. I was so grateful that I could contribute in a small way to making their lives a bit more comfortable.”

In addition to church members and leaders who helped to organize and facilitate the event, over a dozen women, including teenagers looking for service hours for their school, signed up through JustServe.org. 

A young teen who participated in the event said,” Learning about Days for Girls was inspiring and a great reminder that we often take the smallest things in our lives for granted. Participating in this service project helped us feel connected to each other, to other volunteers, and to females around the world. As females, regardless of circumstance, geographical location, or culture, we all seek the same things: to feel empowered to follow our dreams and to be proud of who we are. The female body is an amazing thing and should be celebrated and taken care of, not seen as a disadvantage to becoming who you want to be.” 

To get involved and learn more about Days for Girls and how they supply much-needed products that enable individuals to manage their periods and reclaim their days, visit their website.