Period Poverty

The JWN Foundation•Period Poverty

Tag: Period Poverty

JWN Foundation Continues Its Record Impact In Battle Against Period Poverty

The JWN Foundation further expanded its fight against period poverty last week as it distributed 2,016 menstrual kits to women and girls across Kingston, Clarendon, and St. Elizabeth on April 2nd and 3rd. This marked the largest distribution effort in the campaign’s history, demonstrating the foundation’s heightened and continuous commitment to addressing this critical public health issue.

The two-day distribution drive reached 17 schools and 4 care facilities, including primary and secondary institutions such as Seaview Gardens Primary and Maxfield Park Children’s Home in Kingston, Racecourse Primary in Clarendon, and Sydney Pagon High School in St. Elizabeth. The initiative built upon the foundation’s long-standing #EndPeriodPoverty campaign that has been tackling menstrual inequity since 2020.

With this latest distribution, the JWN Foundation has now donated over 13,297 sanitary products to nearly 9,000 females across Jamaica, representing significant growth in the foundation’s’ social inclusion impact. Social Inclusion as a pillar of the foundation seeks to create the ability and opportunity for girls from underserved communities to have access to products and services that will enhance their daily activities.

“Every girl deserves dignity during her menstrual cycle, and no student should miss school because of a lack of sanitary napkins,” said Marsha Haughton, Director of the JWN Foundation. “What made this year’s initiative particularly impactful was not just the increased number of beneficiaries, but also the enhanced quality of our menstrual kits, which included not just sanitary napkins but also liners and disposable wipes, along with educational components about proper hygiene practices delivered by our nurses and company doctor.”

The expanded initiative followed the success of the Foundation’s “Spirited Women” Luncheon held in March to commemorate International Women’s Day, which was celebrated under the theme “Accelerate Action” — focusing on forging the way toward women’s equality and celebrating women’s achievements.

This year’s drive was executed in partnership with T. Geddes Grant and supported by a dedicated network of over 40 volunteers across the three parishes. Staff volunteers visited schools and community institutions during the designated times, providing both supplies and vital education about menstrual health.

“T. Geddes Grant has been a proud partner of the JWN Foundation’s #EndPeriodPoverty initiative since 2023, and this year’s expanded reach truly demonstrates what’s possible when corporate entities join forces for social good,” said Latasha Hitchman, Trade Relationship Manager of Kotex at T. Geddes Grant (Dist.). “As a company that has been distributing Kotex products to Jamaicans for over 10 years, we recognize that addressing period poverty is not merely a health issue but an economic and educational imperative, which feeds into the Kotex’s slogan ‘She can’. The feedback from schools about improved attendance and confidence among female students confirms that our partnership is creating meaningful change.”

“Period poverty continues to be an invisible struggle for many young women in Jamaica,” continued Haughton. “Teachers across the schools we visited reported that girls would miss several days of school monthly during their cycle due to a lack of proper menstrual products. The feedback we received during this distribution was overwhelming, with school administrators reporting that our donations and motivational sessions directly supports their efforts to improve female student attendance, welfare and participation,” she shared.

She continued, “This initiative directly supports our social inclusion pillar by creating an inclusive environment for women and girls in our communities through promoting menstrual equity,” Haughton added. “We at the JWN Foundation demonstrated that by empowering women and providing them with necessary resources, we can make a significant difference in their lives. Through this distribution, we not only provided products but also dignity and opportunity to these young girls.”

At secondary schools like Garvey Maceo High in Clarendon, where 392 female students received menstrual kits, the school’s principal Erica Ewbanks highlighted another dimension of the program’s impact: “Beyond the physical products, the educational component addressing hygiene practices and menstrual health has fostered more open conversations about a topic that has long been taboo in our communities. This is social transformation happening in real time, she stated.

The distribution also reached vulnerable populations at care facilities, including Maxfield Park Children’s Home in Kingston, Mustard Seed Communities, Clarendon Infirmary, and St. Elizabeth Infirmary, demonstrating the foundation’s commitment to leaving no woman behind regardless of circumstance.

The JWN Foundation operates under three pillars – education, culture and social inclusion – and focuses its attention in areas surrounding its business operations at Spanish Town Road in Kingston: New Yarmouth in Clarendon and Appleton Estate in St Elizabeth.

Triple the support as JWN Foundation continues to battle period poverty public health crisis

SOURCE: The Jamaica Observer

JWN Foundation tripled its period poverty donation efforts last week and distributed over 1,800 menstrual kits through their staff volunteer network across three parishes — Clarendon, St Elizabeth, and Kingston — as part of their #endperiodpoverty campaign.

Institutions such as Seaview Gardens Primary in Kingston, Race Course Primary in Clarendon and Bogue All-Age in St Elizabeth are just a few of those that will benefit from the donation. The foundation said it started focusing on the issue in 2020 based on the experience of working in communities where many young girls are unable to afford the cost of sanitary napkins. That year, the foundation donated 650 menstrual care packages to 12 institutions.

Since its inception, the JWN Foundation has donated 9,472 sanitary products, aiding 5,075 women across 20 institutions.

International Women’s Day 2024 was celebrated March 8 under the theme ‘Inspire Inclusion’, emphasising the importance of women being included and feeling a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. JWN said it chose to dedicate the entire month of March to women. As part of the celebrations, the company hosted its ‘Spirited Women’ luncheon to honour remarkable and resilient women, while simultaneously launching the annual ‘end period poverty’ campaign. From collaboration with the women honored, nearly $300,000 cash and in-kind support was pledged towards the foundation’s expanded efforts.

“I never realised the struggles some women were going through,” said honouree Anna Liao, owner of National Self-Serve Wholesale. “Some of these things we take for granted because it’s just a part of life, but my eyes were opened during the luncheon when I watched the video showcasing the work that the JWN Foundation has been doing over the years, so I had to contribute. I had to play my part. It’s something I think we must do to help the many young girls that are struggling.”

Tanikie McClarthy Allen, CEO of the JWN Foundation, said she was very happy with the increased support by the Spirited Women to expand and extend the reach of the period poverty campaign.

“We are proud of the extra support being extended by the Spirited Women to expand the reach of this campaign to reach even more girls. As little as $1,000 can help one girl with three months’ supply, so imagine the collective support of many and what that will do to these young women whose lives we will be touching,” she said.

“Along with T Geddes Grant as one of our trusted partners, I’m also happy to share that this year we can afford to increase and expand the offering to each girl, so aside from the sanitary napkins, we provided wipes, and a convenient pouch to maintain privacy while at the same time helping the girls to form healthy habits of being prepared for their cycles.”

She said this year’s expansion is part of continued support to ending period poverty, and the JWN Foundation believes that by empowering women and providing them with the necessary resources, they can make a significant difference in their lives.

JWN Foundation operates under three pillars — education, culture and social inclusion — and focuses its attention in areas surrounding its business operations at Spanish Town Road in Kingston, New Yarmouth in Clarendon, and Appleton Estate in St Elizabeth.

JWN Foundation triples efforts to fight period poverty

SOURCE: The Jamaica Gleaner

JWN Foundation triples efforts to fight period poverty
Distributes over 1,800 menstrual kits across Jamaica

The J Wray & Nephew Foundation tripled its period poverty donation efforts, distributing over 1,800 menstrual kits through their staff volunteer network across three parishes in Jamaica: Clarendon, St Elizabeth, and Kingston, as part of their #endperiodpoverty campaign.

Institutions such as Seaview Gardens Primary in Kingston, Race Course Primary in Clarendon, and Bogue All-Age in St Elizabeth are just a few of the institutions that will benefit from this well-needed donation. The Foundation started focusing on the issue in 2020, based on the experience of working in communities where many young girls are unable to afford the cost of sanitary napkins. That year, the foundation donated 650 menstrual care packages to 12 institutions.

Since its inception, the JWN Foundation has already donated 9,472 sanitary products, aiding 5,075 women across 20 institutions.

Last month, International Women’s Day (IWD) 2024 was celebrated under the theme ‘Inspire Inclusion’. This theme emphasises the importance of women being included and feeling a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. JWN chose to dedicate the entire month of March to women. As part of the celebrations, the company hosted the ‘Spirited Women’ Luncheon while simultaneously launching the annual End Period Poverty Campaign.

Due to the collaboration with the ‘Spirited Women’ Luncheon, the celebrated women all pledged nearly $300,000 cash and other in kind support towards the foundation’s expanded efforts.

According to Anna Liao, one of the ‘spirited women’ and owner of National Self-Serve Wholesale, “I never realised the struggles some women were going through. Some of these things we take for granted because it’s just a part of life, but my eyes were opened during the luncheon when I watched that video showcasing the work that the JWN Foundation has being doing over the years. So I had to contribute. I had to play my part. It’s something I think we must do to help the many young girls that are struggling,” she shared.

Tanikie McClarthy Allen, CEO of the JWN Foundation, was very happy with the increased supported by the ‘Spirited Women’ to expand and extend the reach of the Period Poverty Campaign. According to her, “We are proud of the extra support being extended by the ‘Spirited Women’ to expand the reach of this campaign to reach even more girls. As little as $1,000 can help one girl with 3 months’ supply so imagine the collective support of many and what that will do to these young women whose lives we will be touching. Along with T. Geddes Grant as one of our trusted partners, I’m also happy to share that this year we can afford to increase and expand the offering to each girl. So, aside from the sanitary napkins, we provided wipes and a convenient pouch to maintain privacy, while at the same time helping the girls to form healthy habits of being prepared for their cycles. ”

She continued, “This year’s expansion is part of our continued support to ending period poverty, and we at the JWN Foundation believe that by empowering women and providing them with the necessary resources, we can make a significant difference in their lives. Through our efforts, we hope to inspire inclusive practices and create a more equitable society for all,” she added.