The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alabama has collaborated with Women in Training, Inc. for more than two years to help End Poverty. PERIOD! Fifty sisters from the Montgomery Stake Relief Society, or women’s group, helped to pack and deliver 600 WITKITS of menstrual, dental and hygiene products to distribute in April and May 2022 to students attending Montgomery Public Schools.
“We believe that when we serve our neighbor, we’re serving God,” said Becky Lords, President, Montgomery Stake Relief Society. “Doing service brings us together. We feel more love from God, for God, from each other and for each other.”
All public schools in Montgomery, Alabama, are designated as Title I schools, because more than 40 percent of students in each school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. School nurses deliver the monthly WITKITS to low-income students in all 12 middle schools and two selected elementary schools.
“One in four American girls and young women skip school or miss work because they cannot afford sanitary pads or tampons to stay healthy and clean during their period,” said Dr. LaKeshia Thomas, DMD, Community Outreach Director, Women in Training, Inc. Board of Directors.
To alleviate period poverty, WIT provides monthly donations of WITKITS® – canvas bags full of menstrual, hygiene and dental products – to underserved girls, young women and nonbinary youth. WIT also provides educational information programs about menstruation for girls and publishes the brochure, The WIT Guide to the Menstrual Cycle.
Sheralyn Belyeu, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Montgomery Stake Relief Society, also serves as the JustServe Specialist. JustServe is an international nonprofit that helps charitable organizations find volunteers and donors.
“When the Relief Society was first organized in 1842, the founding President, Emma Smith, said: ‘We expect extraordinary occasions and pressing calls,’” said Belyeu. “For 180 years, Relief Society sisters have risen to her expectations, providing help and relief in our communities and around the world."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also supported Women in Training's annual holiday turkey giveaway, in 2020 and 2021, with both financial contributions and volunteer resources.