Windsor drive for feminine hygiene products kicks off ahead of International Women's Day

Founders of a local feminine hygiene donation drive called She Support are supporting local women's shelters this month by collecting "life-changing" products. 

Isabella Arthur and Renee Wulterkens, two 19-year-old University of Windsor biomedical students, started the drive in 2021. The campaign collects a range of products — such as tampons, shampoo, deodorant — from local community bins and then these items are donated to shelters in Windsor. 

The drive kicks off on Saturday, ahead of International Women's Day on March 8. 

"When you're thinking about having a period every month and you're thinking about the cost that gets associated with that and having to consistently keep up with that, it is a legitimate issue and something that's not always accessible for women," said Wulterkens. 

"Having these products available can be life-changing for local women especially." 

Arthur added that these sorts of items are ones people often "take for granted." 

"People don't really think about the fact that tampons, pads like they cost as much as they do," she said. 

The Welcome Centre Shelter for Women is one spot that will receive donations from the She Support drive. Shelter volunteer and harm reduction program coordinator Anastasia Adams told CBC News their needs are constantly shifting. 

"The in-kind donations we receive from the community and from groups like She Support basically help fill in the gaps," she said, adding that right now the shelter has a lot of menstrual products, but is in need of general hygiene and pyjamas, slippers and underwear. 

"Our needs change a lot," Adams said. 

This year, the She Support drive is launching at Wolf and Rebel. The duo will be at the shop on Saturday for its small business pop-up event and will leave a bin for people to donate throughout the month of March. 

"For a long time, our business has always been about women empowerment and so [She Support] just fits perfectly ... everything that they stand for is exactly what our business stands for," said Wolf and Rebel owner Annie Vanrivong. 

Other businesses will also have bins to collect donations, including Plant Joy and Potted and Quenched in Tecumseh. 

Last year, Arthur and Wulterkens said their drive collected more than $12,000 in monetary donations, 25,000 menstrual products, 18,000 general hygiene products and more than 900 gently used bras.