Freshman Ava Holland recently started a drive for people to donate feminine products for girls in need of feminine supplies, called ‘It Matters’.  After she watched a YouTube video that captured homeless women having to choose between buying food or feminine products, she was inspired to help.  Holland decided that the easiest way to solve this problem was to fix it locally.

As a start u[p to ‘It Matters’, she received donations from friends and family that wanted to contribute.  Holland also created an Instagram page called ‘It matters’, to create even more awareness about the reality of those who are not able to afford feminine products.

With the help of her family and friends, she was able to donate over 50 cosmetic bags filled with products to Judeo-Christian Outreach Center (JCOC).  Since then she has made thousands of donations that she plans to distribute.  Each month, roughly one hundred feminine products are donated. She plans to continue this drive to stop this issue from reoccurring.  

“I am currently donating to JCOC, but I am planning to reach out to other domestic violence shelters and teen foster care houses.  Hopefully I can send more products when I go on a mission trip to Africa and Costa Rica,” Holland said.

Furthermore, Holland is glad that she started ‘It Matters’ because of how big of an impact it’s making.  It also gave her a better understanding of how women who come from lower income families deal with feminine issues. 

“I saw the fact nearly one in five american girls miss school due to lack of period protection,” Holland said.  “This was so shocking to me and I immediately knew I had to do something. I hope to impact girls and women positively and solve their monthly problems. It makes me so upset to think about what they have to go through, and it’s my goal to help change their life one step at a time.”