RAISING GIRLS PROMOTES PRIDE

Local nonprofit addresses hygiene insecurity and period poverty

The negative stigma attached to hygiene can greatly affect one’s sense of well-being. No doubt all of us can remember that one boy or girl in school that just “didn’t smell good.” They were ridiculed, avoided, hailed as dirty, publicly bullied and ostracized. Due to no fault of their own, kids without proper hygiene are often avoided. It is easy to take for granted the barriers that exist to accessing proper hygiene, because most adults are able to control their environment. However, kids don’t have that privilege. Are there showers with soap at home? Is home safe? Do the students spend a lot of time outside their home? Are they reliably provided with hygiene products? Does their family have the income for hygiene products, which are often not present at food pantries?

Girls, especially, can suffer from this stigma due to the arrival and regularity of their periods. Lack of access to hygiene products already causes undue stress and anxiety among women who are properly equipped (there are always surprises). Teens experience this stress tenfold, due to their early age and the lack of control they exert over their environment. They have neither money nor reliable transportation. This is only incensed by the negative attention and social separation experienced outside the home by kids without access to hygiene products. Nobody needs this kind of self-conscious pressure.

Thankfully, this problem is easily fixed. Raising Girls is a nonprofit that provides essential hygiene products to 86 schools here in the 253. Their gift of hygiene supplies in a large tote bag promotes a sense of pride, reduces bullying, encourages new friendships, and ultimately paves the way for the success of our students.

Raising Girls was founded by Sharon Chambers-Gordon. However, Sharon would say that it was inspired by her

by RACHEL KELLY

mother, Mary. Mary was a small-town community organizer, minister, money changer, letter reader and caretaker. Her involvement in her community gave her a keen understanding of the individual practical needs of her neighbors. She was in the regular habit of packing care baskets for her neighbors in need, usually full of food. She made sure to pack in an extra bar of soap, wash rags or body lotion—whatever she knew was an area of need. Right down to the way in which she tied the tea towel, Mary had a way of making sure her community was seen. Mary knew that selfcare is not just getting a good meal, but it is also feeling refreshed. A feeling of self-confidence goes a long way in making sure that a person is successful. Mary knew how to show care for the whole person. Sharon founded Raising Girls as a testament in her mother’s honor and as a legacy to her own daughter Amara. Raising Girls now serves our larger community with the help of more than 250 volunteers.

“People have a heart to give, they simply just need to be asked,” says Sharon.