CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte woman is working to make a difference in the lives of teens by helping provide free feminine hygiene products.
Dr. Elesia Glover said she's donated tens of thousands of pads to schools around the East Coast, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) through her nonprofit Posh Pack, Inc.
“I actually had a few friends who were providing menstrual hygiene products to incarcerated women and also unsheltered women, and then I noticed that there was this gap in terms of advocacy for students," Glover said.
According to a study from the Journal of Global Health Reports, 16.9 million women who have a period are living in poverty and about two-thirds were unable to afford menstrual products in recent years.
As an alumna of CMS schools, Glover said she wanted to do her part to help students there and in other districts who may have trouble affording the products they need, adding that her mom is also a retired teacher.
"My mother used her own funds to provide these items for students and as I started to talk to more teachers, I realized that this is not just something she did, this is something a lot of teachers do," Glover said.
In 2018, her nonprofit Posh Pack, Inc. was created, supporting students in Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta and more.
They are supported by donations and later gained the attention of national companies that helped boost their efforts.
“In 2022, we donated over 50,000 pads. We were really fortunate to be selected as an Always Period Hero," Glover said. "We've been distributing those throughout Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools… but we are in multiple states.”
In a statement to WCNC Charlotte, a spokesperson for CMS said their schools were very appreciative with Mallard Creek High and Northridge Middle both receiving around 1,000 or more pads.
“I think that we all have a duty and a responsibility to help others," Glover said. "This is my way of giving back and wanting to alleviate issues for students, so they can be as successful as they possibly can be in the classroom.”
To learn more about Posh Pack, Inc. visit their website.
Contact Kayland Hagwood at khagwood@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.