By Isle of Wight ObserverA new Isle of Wight Facebook group has been launched to quietly ensure that no Island child misses school, or lessons, because she has her period.
The group, Red Box Project – Isle of Wight was setup this month as a small branch of a much larger national campaign. Working as a nationwide community of women, The Red Box Project seeks to provide free sanitary items for the young women in local schools.
The project involves stocking a red box with sanitary towels, tampons and spare pants. It’s then kept with the school Nurse, at reception or with an appropriate member of staff.
Posters are also available to be placed in the girls’ toilets to encourage any young woman in need of sanitary items to ask for the red box and take what she needs. Plain bags are included for discretion. This is a very simple, no frills project and is entirely funded by community kindness.
Isle of Wight organiser, Katharine Spencer-Brown said: “I’m in the process of organising donation points and will be able to confirm the ones we have so far at the beginning of next week. I have had offers from various places in Newport and Ryde, and I’m in the process of sourcing Red Boxes for the donations.”
For more information on the project, and details about where you can drop off sanitary items, please see https://facebook.com/groups/RBPIsleofWight/
Isle of Wight Observer