Walford Anglican School for Girls, St Dominics Priory College, Cabra Dominican College, St Michael’s College, Westminster, Loreto College, Wilderness School, and all-boys school Rostrevor College have come together and are running fundraising drives to raise money and donate sanitary products for other students in need.
Running for its third consecutive year, the number of school’s participating in the drive has grown from one in 2022, to five in 2023, to now eight, showing the increase of awareness, support and generosity in the community.
KickStart for Kids founder, Ian Steel, and the charity’s period poverty ambassadors, including TikTok personality, Jenna with the Pink, AFLW PAFC start, Matilda Scholz, and long-term volunteer, Olivia Steel, have visited each of the college’s and addressed both students and teachers about the cause and their mission at their assemblies.
These assemblies have been accompanied by a sanitary product drive, with students and teachers being able to donate products in the special KSFK Against Period Poverty donation bins.
Ian has been thrilled to see the increase in support for the cause. “It’s been great to see the growth in the school’s participating in the fundraising drive over the years, and we’ve managed to raise around 15,000 sanitary products as a result.
“The fact that we started with one and now have eight on board is amazing, and we are particularly grateful that all-boys school Rostrevor has come on board for the second year in a row. It’s important to get the lads involved in the cause as well and get them understanding the struggles that girls who are less privileged than them sometimes have to face.
“We’ve already received calls from the schools to come and collect the products because they’ve already filled their bins, which is great to see,” Ian said.
A survey conducted in May 2020* found that 1 in 4 South Australian girls miss out on attending school due to not having access to feminine hygiene products and 1 in 2 don’t know how to access sanitary items at school.
Since launching KickStart for Kids Against Period Poverty in 2021 in a bid to raise awareness, support, and funds for young South Australian girls experiencing period poverty, the local charity is now distributing sanitary items to around 360 public schools that are part of their successful breakfast program.
In addition to the support from Adelaide schools, KSFK also held its annual fundraising event at SkyCity on Friday, 24 May, where over $31K was raised, along with twelve full bin bags of sanitary products.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support, and it’s through these amazing school communities and the generosity of those that attended our SkyCity fundraiser event, that we are able to continue supplying sanitary products to the girls that need them most,” Ian concluded.
The public can also continue supporting the cause by placing sanitary products in the donation boxes located in all 37 National Pharmacy stores across South Australia. Alternatively, people can donate via KickStart for Kids website.
*Source: 2020 Sanitary Survey Short Report: Impact of Periods on School Students in South Australia by the Commissioner of Children and Young People.
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