Last school year, the girls’ bathrooms at CHS were stocked with free menstrual products for the first time. In the year since, Project Menstruation Station has gained funding and recognition, even spreading to other schools in the district. The CHS club Girls Rising started and sponsors it, and has provided insight into the process behind the project. 

The journey to stock all the bathrooms with free period products was a long one, and began more than five years ago, before the pandemic shut everything down. 

“The idea to have boxes of free menstrual products in our bathrooms originated in the early days of the club, way back in 2018,” recounted Emily Wilt, the sponsor of the club. “After doing some research and discovering that lack of access to menstrual products can contribute to absences from school, they decided to figure out a way to provide products to their classmates.”

Although students are able to go to the nurses’ office and ask for products, it was a logistical inconvenience. For many students, it disrupted their class time and greater education. And period products aren’t cheap:

“Buying period products isn’t cheap – according to The Wall Street Journal, the average price of a package of pads is $6.50; a package of tampons averages $8.29…which leads to sex-based economic inequality,” explained Wilt. “By providing products free of charge to our students, Girls Rising is helping to chip away at that inequality one pad or tampon at a time.”

And Girls Rising set out to do just that. As it turns out, Chesterton was pretty far behind.

“It seems so normal to have them in other schools. Not having them here was kind of odd to me,” said Chloe McGowan, Co-President of Girls Rising. Several schools in the area have free products in their bathrooms: Plymouth and LaPorte, for example. 

The project involved a lot of brainstorming, securing approval from school officials, and constructing the boxes with the help of a teacher. 

“Mrs. Wilt helped us get in contact with other teachers and the principals so we could get our project approved. The construction teacher helped build the boxes. And the janitors installed them,” recounted McGowan. “It was kind of not a simple process, but we made sure to keep it linear along the way.”

The project has been well-received, with students using the boxes and not vandalizing them. The project isn’t without its challenges, though.

“The hardest part about the boxes is getting supplies for the boxes,” said Abi Carper, Co-vice president of Girls Rising. 

 The club holds a menstrual product drive every March, called the Pink Box Project. The proceeds used to go to a local women’s shelter, but now the club keeps the donations to stock the boxes within the school. 

“The Pink Box Project is how the school gets products for the boxes,” McGowan explained. “That’s how your sisters, your friends, your girlfriends, get to feel comfortable in a school setting. So be on the lookout for that.”

Even though the boxes rely on donations, the community has been especially generous toward the project. 

“I love that our boxes are filled by donations from our community, that we are helping take care of one another,” said Wilt. “This is an aspect of the Pink Box Project & Menstruation Stations that means a lot to me! I am proud to be a part of this project.” 

And CHS isn’t the only school that’s benefitted from Girls Rising’s involvement. Project Menstruation Station has spread to other schools in the Duneland district. Already, Westchester Middle School has a fully functioning branch of the project. McGowan is hoping to install boxes in Liberty Middle School, as well. 

“I’ve already installed paint boxes into Westchester. Those boxes are being used similarly to the ones here, and they’re being used a lot,” said McGowan. “And I’ve gotten in contact with the Liberty counselors and principals, and they want to set up a meeting with me to discuss putting it there as well.”

McGowan hopes the project will continue to benefit students as it expands across the district. When asked what her motivation was, she had some insight to provide.

“With these products being in the bathrooms, I think it’s helping girls, especially at that young age, feel less ashamed about it. Maybe even feel more self-confident with who they are and how their body operates,” said McGowan.

Hopefully, the drive this March will be successful and Girls Rising will be able to stock the boxes for a long time coming.