Hey, do you have a pad or tampon?
This is an question that OH students hear almost daily, due to lack of available period products in school bathrooms.
OH Flow Fund President and OH junior Shelby Van Kley asks students to think about it like this: period products are like toilet paper, a human necessity.
Van Kley and fellow juniors Gabby Buchan, CJ Mattern, Colbie Livesay, and Nadriah Ngassa noticed this problem and decided to do something about it, and they created the Flow Fund.
“Illinois law… states that all government buildings are supposed to have period products in all staff bathrooms and… female bathrooms,” Van Kley said. “Technically, OHS wasn’t following state regulation.”
OH not following the state regulation was one of the alarming issues that urged her to take the next step of forming the vital organization.
As the Flow Fund was beginning, an overarching women’s club offered to take them in, and turn their community project into national one, but the Flow Fund declined.
“We want to focus on Oswego,” Vice President Buchanan said.
The Flow Fund’s mission is to provide period products to Oswego’s community, and to break the stigma around periods.
“It affects those who do have periods to feel ashamed, or even not come to school because they aren’t able to have adequate access to things that they need,” Secretary Mattern said.
If students need period products, Flow Fund members always carry emergency kits with them that include products, and stain removers. Additionally, OH students can find products in the Panther Care Closet.
If the stigma created around periods affects student’s education— shouldn’t that be alarming enough to spur people to action? That’s why Livesay, the organization’s social media manager, creates her own posts, using platforms like Instagram and Tiktok (@oswegoflowfund), another way to inform our community, spreading awareness.
“We tell people about our different events that are coming up [using our socials],” Livesay said.
They’ve utilized these popular programs to inform the public about their organization and their goal of increasing access to care and decreasing stigma.
“I really wish there was an organization like this when I was first starting my period,” Community Outreach Manager Ngassa said.
Interested readers can donate to The Flow Fund; all proceeds go toward purchasing period products for the Oswego community.
