The Supply Line: TMC Blog

It’s Amazing! Update on the Fall Donation Drive

Published on by Jan WilbergLeave a comment

Time of the Month Club has really taken off this year.

Between the start of our Fall Donation Drive on September 24th and October 19th, we raised $5,324 from 61 donors. That is an average donation of $87.21.

And, we’ve gotten many, many direct donations of tampons and pads through our Amazon Wish List and directly.

The Fall Donation Drive continues until November 15th. So still plenty of time to support this cause!

As fast as donations have come in, we’ve been working on getting supplies out to people who need them. One hundred fifty period packs were distributed at Milwaukee’s Project Homeless Connect, 26 mini-packs were provided to Street Angels Milwaukee Outreach, and 250 cardboard-wrapped tampons and pads were dropped off for outreach workers with Milwaukee County Housing First.

That’s just the beginning. We are looking to stock up all our partners in the short-term and develop a new approach to managing inventory to respond to needs later in the year.

Thank you for keeping an eye on Time of the Month Club. In return for your support, we will work hard to keep you posted. Stay tuned!

 

2019 Fall Donation Drive Kick-Off

Published on by Jan WilbergLeave a comment

It was a fabulous day!

Time of the Month Club held its first ever kick-off lunch on September 24, 2019. Made possible by the generous support of United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County and Old National Bank, the lunch drew fifty women (and one man) from all parts of the Milwaukee area.

71919633_976000489418497_8631233846467100672_o

Milwaukee County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic spoke to us on the issue of menstrual equity, highlighting efforts to provide free menstrual supplies in the Milwaukee County Courthouse and Coggs Center. She talked about the need to broaden this campaign to make free menstrual products as common as paper towels and toilet paper in public bathrooms. It’s an equity issue, Marina said, girls and women shouldn’t be held back from participating in anything  because of their periods.

Katie Silva spoke about her homeless experience. She described the typical day as having to always be on the move, being able to stay at a McDonald’s, for instance, for just thirty minutes before being told to leave. She talked about going back to her camp to find all her things stolen – her tent, her clothes, everything. She talked about addiction and recovery and surprised the group when she told them that she went into detox and completed inpatient treatment and then had to go back to the streets because she had no place to live. Still, she spent four months clean on the streets before finding permanent housing and has been clean 2 and a half years in total. Katie is starting her own nonprofit to do outreach with homeless women.

69853966_967053953646484_4290819543003037696_o

County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic, Time of the Month Club Founder Jan Wilberg, United Way Vice President Nicole Angresano, Homeless Advocate Katie Silvak together at the 2019 Time of the Month Club Kick-Off Lunch