Junior Cassia Campbell holds product drive
In a survey from Reuters Health, it said that 64 percent of women who were asked if they could afford menstrual products in the previous year answered no, and 50 percent said they had to decide between food and period products. To take action to help collect period products for women like the ones who took this survey, junior Cassia Campbell hosted a drive to collect menstrual products in February.
“I came up with an idea for the drive during quarantine and started planning to begin collection of supplies in January. I wanted this drive to help people of the community have access to necessary supplies during this time,” Campbell said.
This was a really important thing for Cassia to help out with, not only because the price of menstrual products is so high in the United States, but also because it has been harder for people to buy menstrual products during the pandemic, especially because people have been losing their jobs.
“Giving away menstrual products is important, especially now with the conditions of COVID-19. Being able to afford such products can be tight and difficult for some families, so I wanted to help ease some stress,” Campbell said.
Being able to have a supportive community around her was really important for Cassia. Even though she came up with the idea of the collection by herself, she still had a lot of her family and people around her during this whole drive. Not only did people from Grayslake help, but also others in different states were able to reach out and donate.
“I’ve had tons of support from the community, and hundreds of people across the country helped me by donating through either my Amazon wish list or in person. As for the execution of the product, I’m very thankful for the help of my mom, Lorelee Campbell, and Karen Frank of the Lord of Glory Church, and I was met with so much support,” Campbell said.
Usually during a pandemic, it’s been harder to reach out to people for events and drives like these, but Cassia was able to spread the word through social media and on Schoology. Social media has such a big outreach that if it weren’t for Cassia being able to spread the word on it, she wouldn’t have gotten this big of a donation.
“I got the project off the ground by spreading a flyer via Facebook on my personal and community pages. I spread the news through social media and through the Lord of Glory Church,” Campbell said.
The impact the drive had on the community of Grayslake was big because so many people were able to go out and donate supplies for the cause. Even if a small amount of products were donated, it still would be able to help people through tough times.
“I think the drive made a huge impact. We already have a hundred or so kits built and ready for distribution, and we are continuing to package more each week. I have been able to make 130 kits so far. I’ve been met with so much kindness and gratitude, and I’m extremely thankful for all the support,” Campbell said.
