The Bloom Aid club held a fundraiser to raise money for menstrual hygiene products for underserved communities on Oct. 29. The club sold an assortment of Krispy Kreme donuts at lunch to support Plover International, an organization that aims to empower youth to take action in providing hygiene access and restoring dignity through hygiene, bringing essential care and support to underserved communities.
In addition to their work for Plover International, Bloom Aid also works directly in the Los Angeles community. One recent partnership was with Food on Foot, a local nonprofit that aims to provide meals, clothing, and other resources to unhoused and low income families.
Founder of Los Angeles’ Bloom Aid chapter Julia Thomas ’29 , said the fundraiser was successful in its second year, and was glad to match last year’s total.
“We raised pretty similar numbers, which is really exciting, since it was a fundraiser that was happening during lunchtime and when a lot of people are busy,” Thomas said.
1 in 3 adults struggle to afford period products in the United States and this disparity is even higher among teens of color and lower-income households, according to UN Women. Thomas said menstrual inequity is often an overlooked issue.
“Often people don’t think about the impact,” Thomas said. “It’s definitely not the first thing that comes to a lot of people’s minds, but it’s a really important health issue and something that impacts women throughout the world. I definitely didn’t know that it impacts a third of women in the United States before I did this. It’s something really important that people don’t realize.” again as mentioned earlier any relevant context should go at the beginning
Thomas said Bloom Aid’s partnership with Food on Foot allowed them to make an impact directly in the Los Angeles community.
“We donated products to the organization, and then also went and talked to different people who were coming to Food on Foot,” Thomas said,“We talked to them about different myths about menstrual hygiene and sort of helped out in that way.”
In the future, Thomas said Bloom Aid would like to further its partnerships to more Los Angeles based organizations to continue combating period poverty.
“We would love to expand and have a more in depth and ongoing partnership with an organization in Los Angeles where we continue making an impact,” Thomas said.
