discussion about periods with respect to menstrual health and the larger issue of period poverty.” Students hold onto their bags and bring them back to school so they can receive additional supplies. There’s no limit to how many period packs a school can receive or how many times they can seek a donation. “For our community partners, being provided period packs has allowed them to have a consistent supply available, or provide a resource that they either hadn’t thought about or didn’t have the means to provide themselves,” Presley said. THE FUTURE Go With the Flow recently opened its first office, which serves as a donation and period resource center. It’s the Valley’s only site dedicated solely to providing free menstrual supplies to community members who need them. (While shelters, food banks and clothing closets provide menstrual supplies, they often don’t have an ample supply because pads and tampons are some of the most underdonated items.) Going forward, Presley plans to expand Go With the Flow’s outreach and develop educational materials for schools and community partners. “One of our priorities is to challenge the perception that menstruation is something embarrassing or disgusting,” Presley said. “We’re excited to start working on materials that are not only educational and informational, but empowering and positive.” Presley also hopes to get more of the community involved. Because Go With the Flow is donation- based, the more donations the nonprofit receives, the more it can provide supplies to community members who need them. “Donations can be made in the form of monetary contributions or product donations, with our most-needed period supplies being thin pads and regular absorbency tampons,” Presley said. “Another way community members can support us is by word of mouth. As a newer nonprofit, people may not know we are a resource, and we aim to be in as many schools as possible.” Presley thinks part of the reason Go With the Flow has grown so rapidly is that it rallies the community around a problem that can be solved. After all, providing feminine hygiene supplies to students or low-income or homeless community members isn’t something that requires extensive legislation or millions of dollars. Go With the Flow has been able to address it at a grassroots level, simply by bringing attention to the issue and providing community members an easy way to help. “Community members can pick up an extra box of pads or tampons while they’re doing their grocery shopping, host a donation collection with their friends, or donate products they no longer use, knowing that every one of those donations will go right into the hands of a community member who needs it.” To learn more, go to gowiththeflowaz.org . 40 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | MARCH 2 020 Demetra Presley ( second from left ) believes that if something as simple as free pads and tampons can keep a student attending school and engaged in education, it is an investment worth making.

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