United Way appeals for Tampon Tuesday collection points outside YK

United Way NWT is searching for people outside Yellowknife to run collection points for a Tampon Tuesday drive next month.

Tampon Tuesday is hosted by United Ways across Canada annually. The drive focuses on collecting menstrual products to help people experiencing period poverty – an inability to afford those items.

“Menstrual items are often the most requested item at a food bank and the least donated,” United Way NWT said in a press release.

Last year, running this kind of drive for the first time, United Way NWT said it collected more than 400 packages of hygiene products and $1,200 in donations, distributed to non-profits in Aklavik, Fort Good Hope, Fort Smith, Hay River, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk and Yellowknife.

This year, United Way NWT says a year-round collection point is being opened at the Yellowknife Co-op with extra drop-off points at Sutherland’s Drugs (March 6-11) and the Trailblazers Symposium at the Explorer Hotel (March 8 only).

But the organization says “drop-off points are needed in areas outside of Yellowknife.”

If you are interested in being what the charity called a “collection champion” at a workplace or office in another NWT community, email United Way NWT for more information.