If you are someone who frequents the three main girls’ bathrooms on campus, you may have noticed the recent introduction of free period products in each restroom. 

For those who may not know since they don’t use these restrooms, PVHS club Palos Verdes Organization of Women (PVOW) has successfully held a menstrual product fundraiser in order to have inclusive healthcare in girls’ bathrooms. 

The fundraiser, which took place in March, resulted in a multitude of products including pads, tampons and other menstrual necessities. 

“PVOW has been talking about some way to provide our bathrooms with free period products since last year, but it wasn’t until this year that we took initiative to devise a plan,” PVOW President senior Ella Brinderson said. 

“We started by mapping out our timeline and decided we wanted to start at the beginning of March, which is Women’s History Month.”

Other organizations on campus helped out with the effort.

“We started a donation drive in partnership with CSF that ran for about a month,” Brinderson said. 

“We ended up collecting an overwhelming amount of supplies that we predict will last us through this year and into next if this project continues.”

Though this may not seem like a big deal because there are period product dispensers in most public restrooms, it’s normally required to pay for a product. 

PVOW is setting a precedent by acknowledging that people with periods exist and attend PVHS and that they should not be denied basic healthcare products, even if it means the organization has to take matters into its own hands. 

“We are currently keeping track of the inventory of the bathrooms to stay on top of restocks, and to hopefully use this data in the future to support an argument for why our students need access to free period products,” Brinderson said.

Since implementing these period baskets, people using the girls’ bathrooms have become more comfortable when experiencing period symptoms. 

These free products have already helped many students on campus: many students enjoy not having to carry products around in backpacks all day and not having to bring a pad or tampon with them to the bathroom during class.

Members of PVOW think it is important to start the precedent of providing these commodities at school to support students with periods. 

“I think this project has set a good precedent for future members of PVOW to continue and improve it after I graduate,” Brinderson said. 

“It gives younger classmates a chance to get involved to improve our school and I believe it has the chance to have a long-lasting impact on our campus and serve girls at PV High for years to come.”