Carlee Wendell, a University of Alabama alumna, recently founded a non-profit organization called For the Love Of Women, which collects feminine hygiene products for women in shelters. After scrolling through Facebook and seeing a picture of feminine products being handed to a homeless woman, Carlee realized the importance of providing women with these items.
So many women nationally and internationally do not have adequate feminine care, and after questioning why no one was doing anything to change this, Carlee acknowledged that she could be the one to make the first step. Often times, feminine products like pads and tampons are not seen as necessities and their importance, therefore, is overlooked.
A large part of their organization is based on supplying women with these products, but an equally significant part relies on empowering women by giving them the choice of which feminine products to use. FLOW wants to change the shameful, taboo-like outlook on periods and emphasize the power of periods and the power that comes with being a woman.
FLOW is built upon five core mottos:
- We believe in sisterhood.
- We believe in kindness.
- We believe a woman’s period is powerful.
- We believe that respecting your body is respecting yourself.
- We believe all women should feel loved and empowered.
"These five mottos remind us that it is our job as women to become empowered by our periods and our womanhood, and to help others do the same," said Carlee.
In many areas across the globe, periods are a source of embarrassment, especially in Uganda where a woman’s period is known as the “the week of shame.” Third world countries often don’t have the resources to provide women with pads or tampons, which leads young girls to have to spend a week every month at home and therefore, restricting their ability to go to school and get a quality education. Carlee hopes that with the growth of FLOW in the upcoming years, these consequences of simply having a period will drastically decrease.
Carlee has big, global goals for the future of FLOW. The organization is based in Tampa, Florida, and because of its recency, most of their impact currently remains in the Florida area. FLOW has also done some work in Chicago, and there was recently a collection drive in Houston. Carlee hopes to expand nationally, as well as overseas to many third-world countries in the months and years to come. She hopes, though, that there will come a day where FLOW will essentially put itself out of business.
You can help by hosting a collection drive, donating, or even just telling someone about this organization because period shaming is a problem that demands to be talked about. For the love of women and the love of ourselves, it’s time for us to stand alongside FLOW to provide everyone with essential feminine care.
Check out their website and social media accounts for more information! You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
