Brian Armitage, Linda Reaume, Margery Muharrem and Scott Roose at the Tampon Tuesday event in Chatham on June 18, 2019. (Photo by Allanah Wills)Brian Armitage, Linda Reaume, Margery Muharrem and Scott Roose at the Tampon Tuesday event in Chatham on June 18, 2019. (Photo by Allanah Wills)
Chatham

Dozens of community members rally together for 'Tampon Tuesday' in CK

While many people often reach for things like canned goods when donating to those in need, one item often goes overlooked -- feminine hygiene products.

‘Tampon Tuesday’ is a national day created in hopes of ending that problem and bringing awareness to the need for tampons and pads in shelters. It was celebrated this week in Chatham-Kent with great success.

Dozens gathered at the Ten-Seven Cafe & Lounge in Chatham as the Women’s Leadership Council United Way of Chatham-Kent hosted their version of ‘Tampon Tuesday’ in the form of a social gathering and networking event. The cost of admission to get in? A box of feminine hygiene products.

According to Margery Muharrem, individual donor and major gifts associate at the United Way of CK, the organization partnered with the Chatham-Kent Labour Council for the second year in a row to put on the event.

“It was determined that there are many products that are not provided through the food banks, women shelters and stuff like that because nobody donates those kinds of items, the feminine hygiene products,” explained Muharrem. “So, it made sense for us to kind of get our community partners involved and say ‘hey, this is something that’s so needed yet the least amount donated.”

Muharren said she believes the reason for the lack of feminine hygiene products in shelters is because people may overlook that those kinds of products are needed for donation.

“I think it’s really honestly because people don’t recognize that they need to,” she explained. “If you say ‘can you donate some hygiene products?’ maybe people do shampoo, shower gel, those kinds of things. They don’t think of feminine hygiene products.”

For women living in poverty, Muharrem said they can often be faced with the difficult decision of having to choose between necessities.

“If you’re going to put food on the table or you’re going to get feminine hygiene products, food on the table is going to take precedence, which then leads to some unhygienic and unsanitary situations that we hope that we can help elevate that a little bit in the community,” said Muharrem.

Photo by Allanah Wills Photo by Allanah Wills

Before the event even officially started, a pile of hundreds of various feminine hygiene products could be seen in the corner. According to Muharrem, it was tough to estimate how many were collected over the past few weeks leading up the event. She called the outpouring of support “incredible” and said donations came in from all different platforms across the community including municipal officials and residents.

On Wednesday, the products will be taken to the United Way building in Chatham and sorted. Towards the end of the week, they will be distributed to food banks and women’s shelters across the municipality.

For anyone who was unable to attend ‘Tampon Tuesday’, Muharrem said it’s never too late to get involved and to contact the United Way of Chatham-Kent if you wish to donate to the cause.

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