Here's the deal - the demand for services from Goods 4 Girls is far outweighing the supply. This should come as really no surprise to anyone who has been following along on the journey to helping girls in Africa gain access to menstrual products. In the last few days I've been contacted by several other aid organizations asking to partner with Goods 4 Girls because of the great need of the girls they support in areas of Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan, Tanzania and others. Since the demand is far outstripping the supply, I really hate to turn people away.
But, I'm not asking you to donate more than you already have (unless, of course, you want to). What I'm asking is for you to help spread the word. It won't cost you much except for a little time to write up a post or throw up a button on your site or blog. For those of you who have already posted, I thank you dearly. If you want to update your readers with the recent news, that would be great. I'll be sending 75 kits over to the lovely girls of Southern Sudan in a few weeks. If you haven't yet posted about the project, please take a look at it. Even a small mention would help spread the word. There are a number of different ways for people to donate, either by making the pads themselves, buying them from other manufacturers or donating money for those who want to help and just want to click a button to do it.
More importantly, you can really help out if you have any suggestions for groups to contact, people who would be interested, media contacts, forums to post on, etc. Please let me know your ideas. I really see this as a grassroots venture and I am dependent on y'all for your connections.
Finally, if you are holding or making pads to be sent in can you drop me a line and let me know (just an estimate) how many you'll be sending? That way I'll know how many to expect.
And, really, I'm not above begging :)
Posts
33 Crunchy Thoughts:
Brilliant project. I just posted links and a button over on twinutero.org.
I'm a Canadian, recently transplanted to South Africa. If you need a contact person here, please get in touch. I'd love to help.
i did a post on flickr and i sent you 8 bags last week, they should arrive this week.
all the best
riana
I am going to print out the info and take it to my book club tonight!
you've been up as my "status" on facebook, and I'll post you to the BFAR (breastfeeding after reduction) forum today. Those mamas are all about cloth diapers, and if they have any extra cash, would want to help.
Any chance of getting Colin aka NIM to profile this project as an example of extraordinary individual action? Another online venue might be askmoxie.org. She has a huge readership and is mainly about parenting young kids, but makes forays into women's issues in general.
I just sold a couple more custom slings (I've been telling my custom clients that my profits go to you and the Central Asia Institute - ikat.org for anyone who doesn't know about them) - would you rather have the cash or another Lunapanty kit? It's about $40
I'll try my hand at sewing some this weekend if I finish the slings for the store.
Just sent you some cash. ;) Not much, but I will also try to make some pads this week. I put a post up on my blog - hopefully some folks in my area will be up for a pad-making party!
I will make pads! Since I haven't ever made them, I don't know how many I can whip out. But, I am going to try for five this weekend. If that goes well, I will re-post how many more I can do.
Ah, my dear Crunch. The price of success. Then they always ask you to do more. :-)
You really need to think about some way to set up a PERMANENT system/process.
My suggestion- how about a committee? No, don't laugh- really. Get about 25 volunteers (you've got them here) - and get them to oversee- and ROTATE the job of being the center of trouble. You could rotate out of Center- but still help keep things on track; and it could stay community run.
Eventually you may need to rent space- an address for materials to go to, and be shipped out of.
Sorry you're such a smash hit! :-) You deserve it!
I'm going to see if I can pick up some snaps today. I've only made one pad before, but I am going to try a couple more and hopefully make some good enough to send off to you!
I'm glad you posted this - I was just thinking to myself, I wonder if CC even needs more...
I will get sewing!
I can start a Facebook group, if you don't already have one. Let me know :)
When I clicked on your potato growing link to Mother Earth News from your previous post, they had a Kotex/Africa ad in there. Imagine if it was a G4G add instead! I'm not sure if this will help or not, but I'm going to write to MEN (I'm a subscriber too) and tell them that I would much rather see them support Goods For Girls than Kotex.
What about home ec classes? I'm 29, but I still remember my high school offering classes in home economics and sewing. I don't know if they've survived the No Child Left Behind era, but can you imagine the productivity (and beauty) of an assembly line of 20 or so teenagers spending an hour a day for a week sewing these up? I'll check into high schools in my area (Boston) and see if they can help.
i've just suggested to the sf bay area women's email list that i'm a member of that we band together to make a donation. i'll let you know what the response is like! i've also send mail to spread the word to women active in the yoga and wicca communities here, which seem likely to be interesting in offering support.
thank you for galvanizing us to action on this and for your constant positive inspiration!
I have just sent an email to my church office asking that information about this be put into the church notes. I suspect I am too late to get it into tomorrow's service notes, but hopefully it will get into next week's notes.
Hi! I'll write a blog about it tomorrow, but in the mean time, I posted it on digg.com, hehehe. I also wrote on the wall of one of facebook's menstrual alternatives groups. Might do a few more this afternoon.
So, everyone, go to digg.com, and digg it. The more people digg it, the more people will see it.
http://digg.com/health/Sustainable_pads_to_African_girls
I haven't made any pads yet, and sewing by hand, I will be quite slow. However, I would like to take a stab and see if I can help. I will certainly blog about it if I do. In the meantime, I have told a few people, and I will gladly post your button.
I'm a new reader but "kudos" on a fabulous project. I posted a button on my blog.
Why don't you try connecting with Bust magazine? I'll bet they'd run an article, at least.
Another thought - have you considered asking churches? I know they send missions groups out but this would be something those unable to go could do. I know my aunt's church has a sewing group and they always look for projects! I think our church has a quilting group too and man those elderly ladies are fast when they get together! We have a few mega churches around here and those would be the most 'productive' or financially generous or whatever. I'll let you know if I can get our little group going...congrats on the success!
I've written about Goods 4 Girls on my blog and posted about it on several forums.
Keep up the good work, it's such a fantastic initiative!
I have a whopping two or maybe three pads in my closet waiting to be shipped out to you. Maybe I should get off my tail and do it tomorrow... Actually I have a couple more I could send but they don't have "wings". If I sent them to you would you be able to have the wings added?
What about contacting Deepika at PatternReview.com? This would be a great way to get the message to a lot of sewists all at once.
I've set up a challenge on my blog, asking readers to participate and pledge to contribute a certain number of pads for 2008. The I put a "Pad-o-meter" in the sidebar of my blog showing my pledge amount and how many I've made and sent.
I'm not above begging either. I'll send out a mass email this week.
Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions, I'll follow up on them.
Tara - you rock!
i will do my best to plug this again on my site soon and see who else i can spread the word to.
Heya-
I don't know if you ever need any actual manpower help, but I live on Capital Hill if it ever comes to needing help boxing or what not! I don't know how to sew, but I am great with grunt work!
Also, someone suggested Bust magazine... look into Bitch too. They are based out of Portland, smaller, and probably easier to get in touch with.
-Kathryn
Er, sorry about the Jessica/Kathryn thing. (My totally unused blog name is Jessica Pancakes. It's a song. Blogger is weird.)
-K
OK I am late to the party here, and I haven't read every line about this worthy project. I read early posts and browsed the instructions for making pads.
What I am wondering - why can't girls in Africa be taught to sew their own pads from local (or donated) materials?
I know this is a bigger project in some ways, but one hopes that if the pads are really helpful and girls share the knowledge with each other, the technology will spread virally.
Then the young girls won't depend upon the generosity of foreigners for their pads.
If I missed a component of this project and this has been addressed already, forgive me...
Will post a button on my blog... I am for anything to help keep kids in school!
Has this been mentioned on the cloth pads group on LJ?
(also, am in Seattle [Westalake] if you need help.)
Re: Space. If that does become a concern, look in to ActivSpaces. They are artist type spaces around Seattle where you rent a room.
-Jenn
(midnightsky (at) midnightskyfibers (dot) com)
I'll definitely post the button on my blog. I happened to be looking for sewing classes for myself the other day, and found this very cool looking place: https://www.stitchlounge.com/stitchlounge/store/productactions/ViewProduct.do?productId=929 - I wonder if they'd consider having this as their project, thereby creating some product, but more importantly, giving people the skills to make more? Good luck! Love your blog!
I already got some supportive comments when I linked from my LJ (I'll link from my Wordpress blog at some point, but I have about six readers, most of whom probably read this blog anyway) :-)
I'll also see about posting on some Bryn Mawr communities...there were some pad-sewing workshops at the Women's Center there when I was a student.
Have you considered contacting the Girl Scouts? I think it would be a great project for the older girls to spearhead as leadership or help with as a service project. Thinking Day is already over for this year, but it would follow the important theme of that day of thinking about our sisters around the world. In this case they would be helping girls their age!
Why not try some Feminist sites like "Feministing"? No matter how you feel about the site, it does seem to reach a lot of passionate women. "Bitch" and "Bust" would also be good, and maybe the women who run "New Moon" too? It's a magazine for girls, but maybe they would be interested in setting up an interview with you. Look up "New Moon Girl Media" and see if you can contact them.
Oh, and why not try Heather Corrina from Scarleteen.com? She is (among other things) a passionate feminist, activist, educator who reaches a lot of people, and from what I know, she has been into the green movement for a long time. Also (if I recall correctly) she currently resides in your hometown, which is a plus. See if she's interested.
P.S. I'm a poor college student, but I've donated 3 pads and am planning on donating more. This is a great cause and I'm happy to help in any way. Best of luck with it. :)
Post a Comment