Senator Kearney, Rep. Curry Deliver Thousands of Donated Feminine Hygiene Products to Upper Darby WIC Office

SPRINGFIELD, PA – June 15, 2022 – Senator Tim Kearney (D-Delaware/Chester) and state Rep. Gina H Curry (D-Delaware), on Friday delivered over 1,000 feminine hygiene products to the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) office in Upper Darby to help local menstruating individuals in need.

The elected officials collected the items during a month-long donation drive in May. Donation boxes were placed throughout several locations in Delaware County, including both officials’ district offices, Five Points Coffee Shop in Upper Darby, and the Ridley, Lansdowne, and Springfield YMCAs.

“Both Rep. Curry and I have constituents in our district who are facing period poverty and through our partnership with The Foundation for Delaware County, we wanted to do something to help,” said Senator Kearney. “The support we received for this drive was overwhelming.  Not only were we able to collect and deliver more items than expected, but we also hosted a virtual webinar on period poverty to raise awareness about the public health issue.”

Delivery of the donated feminine hygiene products to the WIC office comes just as the nation is experiencing a tampon shortage caused by supply chain issues. According to an article in the New York Times, raw materials needed to make tampons are “costly and highly volatile,” affecting accessibility and driving up prices.

“Understanding the depth of need around menstrual justice and equity is essential in a world that doesn’t always respect the barriers and challenges that women and menstruating people face every month,” said Rep. Curry. “With the rising cost and lack of attainable accessibility of menstrual hygiene products, I am so encouraged by the strong response we received for our “call to action” during our drive to provide in May.  I would like to thank Senator Kearney’s office for partnering, all who participated in providing the products and the educators who were a part of our webinar, Christine Joy Brunson from The Purple House Project, PA and Nhakia Outland from Prevention Meets Fashion who diligently serve the community through this work every day.”

The Foundation for Delaware County will distribute the donated goods along the network of organizations that they support, which includes local WIC offices.

 Additional Information:

The accompanying photo shows Senator Kearney, Rep. Curry, Christine Joy Brunson, Executive Director of Purple House Project PA, Inc., and Nhakia Outland, Founder and Executive Director of Prevention Meets Fashion dropping off feminine hygiene product donations to the Upper Darby WIC Clinic.

 

PICTURE CAPTION: Senator Tim Kearney and state Rep. Gina H. Curry pose for a picture with Christine Joy Brunson, Executive Director of Purple House Project PA, Inc., and Nhakia Outland, Founder and Executive Director of Prevention Meets Fashion during their visit to the Upper Darby WIC to drop off donated feminine hygiene products on Friday.