Starting on Feb. 1, the Girls Leadership Committee (GLC) is proud to begin their annual menstrual product drive. Throughout the month of February, local students and community members will be able to donate feminine products at different locations throughout McLean.
“We’re [currently] working on reaching out to all of the places that we’re going to set up our collection boxes at,” said senior Amelia Egan, GLC co-president. “Usually we get schools in the area like Langley High School, Longfellow Middle School, and potentially Oakton High School [and] community centers like the McLean Community Center [and] the Falls Church Community Center…that we assign a member to drop a collection box off at. Then every so often, we go and collect the products there.”
This annual drive allows the GLC members to continue working towards their goals of educating others about empowerment and assisting women in the community.
“We strive to aid women in need, so that’s the main focus of this drive,” Egan said. “Menstrual products are really expensive, so we’re hoping to collect enough of those [products] to help women in the community who may not have enough of them.”
Participating in this drive is particularly accessible to McLean students who wish to give back to those in need.
“We’ll have two collection boxes at McLean: one at the rock entrance and one at the main entrance, so students can donate products [there],” Egan said. “Usually the schools are where we get the most donations, so we would really appreciate [any help].”
The large amount of student donations have proved to be a significant factor in the success of past menstrual product drives.
“In previous years we’ve gotten around 60,000 products that we’ve been able to collect and donate to a bunch of different shelters, so it’s really just knowing that it has had an impact on women’s lives [that inspires us],” Egan said.
For more updates on GLC’s upcoming events, students can join the Schoology page with the code KW7G-P7CT-N858D and follow their Instagram at @mcleanglc for more information.
