KALISPELL - Days For Girls is a national nonprofit that brings menstrual health products and education to over 2.5 million girls worldwide and a group in Kalispell is helping make it all happen.
“It's something that we can do in our spare time. It supports people overseas, we get donations of fabric, it gets us together. It's a great way to have some camaraderie, especially in the winter sewing and so forth. Making these kits so that these young girls have an opportunity to make their lives better,” said Days For Girls Kalispell chapter member Tammy Hirsch.
Portions of the kits are made all over the world and then sent to a central distributing location where Days for Girls International gets them to the girls in need. The kits consist of underwear, reusable sanitary napkins educational information and a few other things.
“You get a bar of soap and a washcloth and all of that and that way they can launder their items because there are no garbage services and disposable items in third world countries. And so this allows them to have their pride while they're becoming women,” said Hirsch.
The Kalispell group consists of up to 16 ladies who get together a few times a year to assemble the pieces they make at home. There is a job for everyone to help make these kits. There’s tracing, cutting fabric, adding buttons or the ladies can even teach you how to sew
Creating these kits allows girls to attend school even while menstruating so they do not fall behind and everyone who helps create these kits has their own motivation.
“I was an exchange student years ago and I met fascinating teenage girls from all over the world. To help provide an education for these young people so that they can be self-supporting someday is, is really it's a gift,” said Hirsch.
The Kalispell group has created 628 kits and is looking to make more. People who are interested in donating time or materials can find visit the Days for Girls Kalispell MT Team page on Facebook or go to https://www.daysforgirls.org/ for more information.
