A pair of twin sisters from Alabama are working to increase access to menstrual products in the classroom, an ongoing issue that has plagued millions of young girls in schools around the world.
Brooke and Breanna Bennett recently flew to Washington, D.C. to celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day, an annual awareness day created to underscore the importance of good menstrual hygiene management at a global level. The day is celebrated every May 28 and was initiated by WASH United, a German-based NGO. The day has been officially observed in the United States since 2014.
“I feel like me and my sister always wanted to do something for our community, but we never knew what,” Brooke told Black Enterprise. She and her sister played an instrumental role in passing Alabama’s “period poverty” law, which apportions $200,000 to the Alabama Department of Education to give grants for the delivery of menstrual products for Title I schools. The law was signed into legislation in 2022.
Their recent trip to D.C. was in collaboration with Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) menstrual hygiene brand, Always. As part of their trip, the twins represented the Always Period Heroes to increase awareness and embolden universal change as they buttressed Congresswoman Grace Meng’s Menstrual Equity for All Act. The twins have worked closely with P&G to #EndPeriodPoverty across the nation.
The pair were also named one of Always brand’s “50 Period Heroes in 50 States.” Dedicated to success among the youth for close to four decades, Always has donated over 75 million period products since debuting its #EndPeriodPoverty campaign.
“The team has always been so wonderful and giving. They stand up for change in such a big way,” she said.
Furthermore, the twins are the founders of the WITKITS Campaign, a subsidiary of their youth empowerment organization, Women in Training, Inc.(WIT). The dynamic duo say they are thankful to P&G and WIT volunteers for helping to stuff the kits with the period products.
“According to WIT, 25% of American young people skip school or miss work because they cannot afford menstrual products, which explains the significance of WIT’s monthly donations to at-risk girls, low-income women, and nonbinary youth,” the Black Enterprise report reads. “WIT offers several programs to help girls break the generational cycle of poverty, which includes: the WIT Leadership Development Cycle for high school women, the WIT Girls STEM Initiative, and their WIT Mentor Program.”
Congratulations, Brooke and Breanna!
