Dignity expands to help all Young Parent Colleges in New Zealand

We are so proud to announce that Dignity has now grown to support all 25 Young Parent Colleges nationwide. This is another step in the right direction to ensure all women around New Zealand have access to sanitary items. Our well-being initiative provides this by having sanitary items in the workplace, with a buy one give one model.

Our corporate partners include ANZ, Xero, Cigna, New Zealand Post, SilverStripe and Yellow. They support the Dignity initiative by providing sanitary items in their workplaces and in turn help schools and community organisations in need around New Zealand.

Term 2 2019 has seen 4500 boxes of sanitary items sent to 50 schools around New Zealand. In total we have sent 18,551 donations to over 95 schools and organisations across New Zealand in two years of operating.

In total, we have supplied 1,300 boxes of free tampons, pads and menstrual cups to all the Young Parent Colleges from the Organic Initiative range.

Terri Cunningham from He Matariki Teen Parent School was delighted with the arrival of the donated products:

“Thank you for the wonderful box of sanitary products that arrived last week! Our young mums are becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues, sustainability and the health and other benefits of using organic products - though sadly they can’t afford  to buy them. This is very timely and much appreciated – I know the students are very grateful for your generosity.” 

One Teen Parent Unit (TPU) manager commented “having a variety of products will allow the young mothers to feel secure about spending money on baby's needs or other specific needs for themselves.”

Another TPU manager said “This is an important issue that is unspoken about in society - women's access to sanitary items and the effect poverty has on this.”

The partnership was established from an email sent to the Dignity team in February in which spoke about “our students are frequently going without just so they can feed their children. This deprivation includes going without sanitary products. Because these are luxury items for them, they are frequently unprepared and it is not unusual for them to get caught short then soil clothes which then creates more issues for them., I now have a dream about partnering with an organisation like yours to reduce period poverty for our vulnerable students on a national scale.”

The partnership was a natural fit and an expansion from the current schools that we already support.

Jacinta Gulasekharam and Miranda Hitchings (Co-founders of Dignity) believe this is a great milestone in their journey to ensure women have free access to sanitary items.