On MLK Day, students in the B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy program packed 150 Dignity Grows tote bags with hygiene products to be distributed to Ridgeway High School students, Room In the Inn and the Tiger Pantry at the University of Memphis.
Dignity Grows empowers neighbors in need by providing menstrual and hygiene supplies for everyone who needs them. What started as a grassroots project by a group of Jewish women at the Federation of Greater Hartford in Connecticut is now a national organization with a new chapter in Memphis, under the leadership of Melinda Lejman at the Memphis Jewish Federation, Sarah VanderWalde at the Jewish Foundation of Memphis, and Sophie Bloch at Hillels of Memphis.
“Working together to address this critical need in Memphis was a no-brainer,” said Melinda Lejman, Federation’s Director of Outreach and Leadership Engagement. “As a Dignity Grows Chapter, we will engage community members who want to get involved through education, volunteering, and sponsorship opportunities.”
To kick off the Memphis chapter, ten members of the Jewish Foundation’s Teen Philanthropy Program volunteered to do a packing party on January 17, a day that area schools are closed to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Launching the Dignity Grows chapter on MLK Day was done purposefully to empower our teens to create solutions to social problems and move us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community,” said Sarah VanderWalde, Director of the Jewish Foundation’s B’nai Tzedek Program. “It also helps that they get an hour of community service.”
The MLK Day event began with students learning about period poverty and the need in Memphis from Eli Cloud, Executive Director and Founder of Sister Supply, a non-profit organization in Memphis whose mission is to fight period poverty by providing tampons and pads to menstruators in need.
“We found that teachers and guidance counselors were paying for pads out of their own pockets to help keep their students in school and this is how we knew there was a need,” said Cloud, who works to distribute menstrual products to many schools in Shelby County through Sister Supply. She praised the students for coming out on their day off to help those in need and challenged them to ask their schools if there are period products available, and if not, why not.
Following Cloud’s interactive session, the teens, who attend Bornblum Jewish Community School, Germantown High School, Memphis University School, and St. Mary’s Episcopal School, packed 150 tote bags with a month’s supply of hygiene products including pads, pantiliners, soap, shampoo, deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and body wipes.
“I really enjoyed the volunteer project that Mrs. VanderWalde hosted,” said St. Mary’s student Sydney S. “It really showed us that there is a need for these products in Memphis.”
After the B’nai Tzedek packing party, fifty tote bags were donated to Room In The Inn for their guests who are experiencing homelessness, with another fifty delivered to Ridgeway High School. More tote bags will be donated to the Tiger Pantry at the University of Memphis, in partnership with Hillels of Memphis.
“I had two students come into my office last week asking for help because they started their cycles,” said Tejwana Y. Hinton, Assistant Principal and 9th Grade Administrator at Ridgeway High School. “The items in the tote bags will definitely be used by our students and we really appreciate your donation.”
“This is just the beginning of the Memphis chapter of Dignity Grows and I can’t wait to partner with more organizations who have a need,” said Ms. Lejman. “After all, it’s the little things that make a big difference in people’s lives.”
For a gift of only $15 you can donate a Dignity Grows tote bag. More information can be found online here or you can email Melinda Lejman at mlejman@jcpmemphis.org or Sarah VanderWalde at svanderwalde@jcpmemphis.org.