A champion for period products in Pennsylvania schools

When a Lancaster County high school student approached Kayla Cook for assistance in providing free period products to her classmates, she asked the right person.

Cook, a patient safety and Just Culture coordinator at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, is the founder of the community nonprofit Warwick United, which plays an important role in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and providing small acts of service to a local school district.

The student had taken it upon herself to put a variety of free period products in school bathrooms. She was hopeful that Cook could assist her in growing her anonymous acts of kindness into a program that supports young people who are menstruating.

Improving access to period products is an important issue for youth. According to the 2021 national State of the Period survey, 23% of students have struggled to afford period products and 51% state they have worn products longer than recommended. When students have easy access to products, they don't have to rely on the school nurse's limited product supply or go home early and risk missing out on their education due to an unexpected menstrual cycle.

After learning about the need, Cook decided to ensure that all middle and high school students in her community would have access to dispensing bins which held tampons, pads, and liners in every individual women's or gender-neutral bathroom stall.

Cook began her effort with a community drive for period products. The outpouring of donations was a huge success. Following the success of the drive, Cook applied for and received two Penn Medicine CAREs grantsto help fund the initiative. The grants helped cover the cost of the dispensing bins and products, as well as a three-month supply of products for students who need them during the summer months. In the middle school, the bins are restocked biweekly by students who are nominated by peers or teachers; in the high school, this role is a "job" for students in life-skills classes.

"When you have community members making donations it's fantastic, but when we get a lump sum of money, we can plan ahead and buy the products in bulk. This is a significant cost savings, and we can buy the product that we know gets used the most," Cook says.

This story is by Olivia Kimmel. Read more at Penn Medicine News.