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Pinkboxes to the rescue

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Period poverty be gone: the first two Share the Dignity vending machines in Newcastle have landed.

The machines, aptly labelled Pinkboxes, dispense sanitary pads and tampons, free of charge, for women and young girls who find themselves in a spot of trouble or who can’t afford these basic necessities and must resort to less-than-dignified measures to manage their period.

One has been installed at The Place: Charlestown Community Centre and the other at Soul Café in Newcastle’s east end.

Each machine releases one ‘period pack’ at a time, containing six tampons and two pads.

The packs are paid for by donations from people and organisations right across Australia through donation drives and, most recently, a collaboration with Woolworths, where 5 cents from each sanitary item sold goes to Share the Dignity.

The vending machines themselves aren’t cheap to install; each one costs $9,000, then of course there are ongoing costs associated with stocking them.

The nib Foundation helped fund The Place’s vending machine, which new volunteer Julianne Lewis is tasked with managing, while Lesley Slevin is Soul Café’s go-to girl.

They’re known as Share the Dignity’s ‘sheroes’, and they’re part of an army of volunteers across Australia who look after Pinkboxes in schools, community hubs and outreach centres.

Ms Lewis said it was empowering to meet these needs.

“Young girls at school – what’s the one thing they don’t want to talk about?” she asked.
“This way, they can get what they need without being embarrassed by having to ask someone [for a pad or tampon].”

The Place’s program and marketing coordinator, Cristelle Govender, said many people, particularly youth, frequented the centre to take part in its various programs, making it the perfect candidate for a Pinkbox.

“It fits in really well with the services we offer and we’re pleased to be able to assist,” she said.

During April and August, small businesses serve as drop-off points for sanitary item donations for the community to contribute to Share the Dignity’s mission.

For everything you need to know, including a map of where to find Pinkboxes around the nation, go to sharethedignity.com.au

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