Giving women what they really need
We're so excited about our new partnership with U by Kotex which will provide thousands of sanitary products for women in need! Kimberly-Clark has partnered with The Foodbank Project to donate 2,000 packs of U by Kotex tampons and pads (worth $10,000) to our Manukau foodbank hub and will also be providing ongoing donations throughout the year ahead.
You can donate a Women's Hygiene Bundle for only $16 and help provide women and girls who can't afford sanitary products with these items so they can go to work and school without risking embarrassment, infection or missing classes or days at work.
Media release
A crucial initiative to help women and girls who can’t afford sanitary products has been given a significant boost.
Countdown and The Salvation Army have teamed up with Kimberly-Clark's U by Kotex to provide free sanitary products through The Foodbank Project, New Zealand’s first online food bank.
To kick off the partnership, Kimberly-Clark has donated 2,000 packs of tampons and pads ($10,000 value) to The Salvation Army’s Manukau Community Ministry. In the year ahead, Kimberly-Clark will work together with The Foodbank Project with an aim to provide more than 20,000 packs of sanitary products to New Zealand women in need.
Louisa Wall, Manurewa MP, says female sanitary products are a basic need which many young Kiwi women on tight budgets are going without.
“Sanitary products are an essential that sadly many Kiwi women struggle to afford. The lack of sanitary products is a major obstacle to regular school attendance and creates health concerns about the unhygienic substitutes women are having to use instead. This is a really significant community issue and it’s important for us all to continue talking about it and working out effective solutions.”
Liz Metz, General Manager at Kimberly-Clark New Zealand, says the partnership with The Foodbank Project is another way to help ensure Kiwi women have access to all their essential needs.
“At Kimberly-Clark we care about the wellbeing of New Zealand women. We already have a comprehensive national schools programme where we provide young women with sanitary products, and this partnership with The Foodbank Project and ongoing donations of U by Kotex is another way that we are working to ensure Kiwi women have a safe and effective way to manage their periods so they can pursue the futures they deserve.”
The Foodbank Project (www.foodbank.org.nz) is an online collaboration between The Salvation Army, Countdown and web developer Lucid, which makes it easy for people to donate food and other supermarket essentials to those who need them most. Countdown is involved on a not-for-profit basis, and donates any profit made on donations back to The Salvation Army.
Major Pam Waugh, The Salvation Army’s National Secretary for Social Services, says “We are about to head into our busiest time of the year when everyone’s budgets are incredibly stretched. Many women will go without basic sanitary products to try and save costs so they can provide other essentials like food for their families. This donation will go a long way to helping ensure women have the essential sanitary items.”
The donation and partnership with Kimberly-Clark is a significant enhancement to The Foodbank Project, Countdown’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs James Walker says.
“New Zealanders can follow Kimberly-Clark’s lead and donate a $16 Women’s Hygiene bundle to support young women who don’t have the money for personal items. Countdown also makes it easy for customers to donate sanitary items in-store for The Salvation Army, through our specially marked Food Rescue bins,” Mr Walker says.