Throughout the month of August, the Community Bank Harden Murrumburrah (Bendigo Bank) had a Share the Dignity collection box for donations of sanitary and personal hygiene items for women in need.
The Community Bank said they were blown away by the generosity shown by the local community, with the donated items being picked up by Share the Dignity member Elizabeth Godfrey last Friday from the bank.
“Share the Dignity works to make a real, on-the-ground difference in the lives of women and girls experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic violence or doing it tough,” Share the Dignity stated.
“We distribute sanitary items to those in need and work to end period poverty here in Australia.
When a woman is doing it tough, the last thing on her mind should be dealing with her period.
“We are proud to partner with over 3,000 charities nationally, helping them to assist the women, girls and those who menstruate who desperately need access to period products.
“This is achieved through our Dignity Drives and Dignity Vending Machines. We also collect and distribute bags filled with essential items to those in need at Christmas time through our annual It’s in the Bag campaign.”
Share the Dignity’s Elizabeth Godfrey explained the process behind the collection points and donation drives.
“The Bendigo Bank have opted in to be a collection point because we run drives in March and August.
A lot of businesses have the collection box out and the public can contribute to them,” Godfrey said.
“The sanitary items then get distributed around to any charities that have requested items in that region. A lot of the products get sent to the Northern Territory because they have the most need up and there and get the least amount of help.
“It’s for anyone who bleeds, so they don’t have to make the decision whether to feed their children or have clean sanitary items.
“There, products go into Libra boxes which distributes six tampons and two pads in a little box in their machines.
They go around to libraries and schools around the state. Eventually, the hope is that the NSW Government will follow suit with other states that have given free period products to the state schools.” The Share the Dignity Vending Machines have timed intervals per free push, so no products get wasted or stolen.
“In high schools, the timer for the vending machines is a lot shorter (3 minutes) especially because students are running from class to class or if they’re in their lunch break.
It’s usually 20 minutes.” Godfrey collected Share the Dignity boxes in Harden, Wagga as well as a number of spots around the region, before returning the donated products to Goulburn, where the numbers and products were recorded before the regional leader decides where to send them based on needs.
“I dropped some items to a charity in Young this morning, so products do stay local. We also drop to Nowra and the South Coast.
“We have found there has been a bigger need post-Covid for sanitary products. We’ve had 247,000 items requested this year, which is our biggest drive ever. The increase has gone exponentially. But in saying that, we have had an increase in donations, which has been amazing.”
The donation box was in Harden Bendigo Bank on Neill Street between August 1st and 31st and received a great reception.
Although the physical box is now gone, people can continue to donate online or visit their website for more information.
Tim Warren
