By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

period promise

Four Red Deer schools to supply free menstrual products

Mar 13, 2021 | 10:31 AM

Four Red Deer schools will soon offer barrier-free access to menstrual products.

A pilot project organized by the Soroptimist International Central Alberta, in partnership with the United Way Central Alberta’s ‘Period Promise’ campaign, will see free tampons, pads and dispensers installed in all washrooms at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School, Eastview Middle, Normandeau School, and G.H. Dawe School.

‘Period Promise’ begins this month and will run until June 2022, with United Way tracking product use, dispenser condition, and feedback from staff and students.

“Public awareness about period poverty and the inability to access menstrual hygiene products has ignited a movement calling for free and accessible pads and tampons in restrooms and public spaces around the world, including schools,” says Sherri Smith, President of Soroptimist International of Central Alberta. “The Period Promise is an initiative to gain commitment from schools, workplaces and various levels of government to provide free menstrual hygiene products in their facilities.”

The project is estimated to cost about $27,000, funded largely through a gender-equality grant from the Red Deer and District Community Foundation’.

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Product sponsorships have been granted by HOSPECO’s Period Partner, and Procter & Gamble, who are the makers of Always and Tampax.

“Students should never have to miss school, extracurricular, sports or social activities because they can’t afford or don’t have access to menstrual products,” says Nicole Buchanan, Board Chair for Red Deer Public Schools. “Equity is a priority for Red Deer Public Schools. By reducing barriers for students to these necessary products, our division is making a real change in the lives of students.”

In April 2019, the B.C. Government announced all schools in the province would provide free menstrual products to students, a result of a United Way school pilot project in New Westminster. The federal Liberals have also committed to making menstrual products free in federally regulated workplaces.

United Way says it will conduct a public awareness campaign targeting the selected schools’ students and staff, and will use a survey to gauge the pilot’s effectiveness.