This past spring, Sandee Ramsey was planning to go on a retreat with other women from Seymour Christian Church.
Her daughter had suggested a service project where the group could put together female hygiene bags to distribute throughout the community.
By donating the bags to places like The Alley, Cold Night Out Shelter and Anchor House Family Assistance Center and Pantry, the bags would be available to women in need.
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“I thought it was a great idea,” Ramsey said.
Then COVID-19 changed the world, and events, including the retreat, were canceled.
But Ramsey still felt the need to do something positive, so she prayed about it.
“When we couldn’t have the retreat, I said, ‘God, you’ve laid this on my heart,’” she said of the project.
She began to research how much it would cost to put together the kits on her own. She found the zippered makeup bags at Dollar Tree, and they were two for $1. By ordering 200 of the bags, she ended up having 400 bags total.
Ramsey then started to fill the bags to see how many items would fit. The smaller bags would hold six panty liners and two pads, and the larger bags held eight panty liners and four pads.
Wanting to get others involved, she turned to the women in her Bible study group and at the church to help.
“The ladies jumped right on board,” she said. “I had about 35 ladies that did bags. They could buy the bags for $1 and then had to buy the products to go in them, and I gave them directions on what to put in each one.”
Some women also made cash donations so Ramsey could purchase more.
The scope of the project also changed as Ramsey talked to school nurses and decided to donate the bags to all of the middle schools in the county. That way, the bags would be available to young girls starting their periods for the first time.
“Our main goal was to have the bags available at the schools so if a girl had an accident or just started, they could get one from the nurse,” Ramsey said.
The bags resemble a pencil or makeup bag so girls don’t have to be embarrassed to carry one.
“It’s discreet,” Ramsey said.
Knowing not every young girl can purchase their own feminine products, Ramsey doesn’t want the bags to be a one-time effort.
She hopes to keep the schools supplied with pads and panty liners so girls can bring the bags back and have them refilled.
“I have $200 to go out and buy supplies to take to the schools so that they have them all of the time,” Ramsey said.
The group also decided to provide bags to the elementary schools.
“One of the ladies said her granddaughter started in fifth grade, so we knew we needed to take them there, too,” Ramsey said.
She also dropped off bags at Girls Inc. of Jackson County and plans to leave some at the Boys and Girls Club of Seymour, too.
Having delivered bags to some of the schools already, Ramsey said nurses are reporting they already are being used.
“The middle school nurse cried. She goes, ‘You just do not understand how much this means,’” Ramsey said. “And I got thank-you letters from the nurses, too. They were just so thankful.”
Besides the pads and panty liners, each bag also contains something Ramsey hopes makes a difference in how young girls feel about themselves.
Printed on slips of paper included in the bags are positive messages such as “Press forward and fear nothing,” “Work hard, be kind and amazing things will happen,” “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try,” “You can think it, want it and get it,” “Not all who wander are lost,” “Tomorrow is another chance,” “Amazing things happen when you try” and “No one is you and that’s your super power.”
“We’re hoping this is twofold, that they get a boost and know that this is OK, they are all right,” she said. “So many kids feel so bad about themselves.”
Ramsey isn’t looking for a pat on the back or any recognition for the initiative. She just wants people to know there are positive things happening in the world.
“We need to see good things happening, that we are thinking about other people besides ourselves,” she said.