Main photo: HPS students (from left) Liv Rosset, Ella Stevenson, Lauren McAughey, Henry Leeder, Joan Foxcroft, and Paisley Bullen with moon kits like those that will be auctioned starting April 4. (supplied)
When students in Mme. Cotterchio’s grade 8 class at Huntsville Public School noticed that not everyone has equal access to menstrual products, they decided to do something about it.
The class began making moon kits—upcycled fabric bags containing menstrual products—and distributed them to the 13 grade 5-8 classes in their school. They have also sent three kits to six local elementary schools and three kits to Huntsville High School, as well as 20 to Christine’s Place. In total, they’ve made and distributed more than 70 kits, and hope to make another 20 to 30 for other local organizations including The Table.
Each kit contains two panty liners, two regular pads, one night-time pad, two regular tampons, one super tampon, one pack of flushable wet wipes, and some comfort items.
The response from moon kit recipients has been positive.
“They have begun talking about menstrual products, [and] for non-menstruators they get to become familiar with products before needing to purchase them. In our school it has created a community of people who aren’t afraid to discuss a totally normal process that happens to over half the world’s population!” said the students in a collective email response. “Every menstruating human deserves equal, and equitable, access to hygiene products and should never feel ashamed to discuss menstruation or be made to feel embarrassed or ashamed for a totally normal process.”
To raise funds to make more moon kits, as well as awareness for menstrual equity, the class is hosting a Facebook auction that will include organic moon kits containing products donated by The Great Vine, as well as other non-menstrual items.
The moon kit auction will be held on Facebook here from April 4 at 8 a.m. to April 7 at 4 p.m., with kits going to the highest bidder.
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Congratulations on this most important project! Equitable access to hygiene products is a problem, worldwide.
In the same vein, I’d like to see normalization re menopause (post, pre, peri). There are so many negative and nasty jokes and comments about it. To stereotype and poke fun at menopausal women as (e.g. witchy, bitchy, off balance) is neither kind, nor beneficial, nor accurate. Facebook is one form of social media where I’ve seen posts/shares of such comments and accompanying pics.