SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL — The Fort Braden Family Resource Center is collecting donations of feminine hygiene products to help keep young girls in the classroom.
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Community members in Fort Braden say period poverty has become a quiet barrier to education for some students, causing embarrassment, anxiety, and missed classroom time.
In response, the Fort Braden Family Resource Center is collecting donations to help ensure students at Fort Braden School have consistent access to basic hygiene products and better attendance.
"So, our attendance at our school is always a struggle, it is. The more resources we can get in our children's hands to allow them to be able to come to school, the better," Todd Lanter, Fort Braden K-8 principal, said.
"Having those feminine products on hand, not only for them here at school, but so they can take those products home and have them at home also as a huge bonus for our students," Lanter said.
For families already struggling financially, feminine hygiene products can become an added expense that gets overlooked. School leaders say that this can leave students trying to make products last longer than they should or going without altogether.
"If they can't access it at home. Then we can even give them feminine products to take home, so the more that we can have, the better it is for those families too," Kimberley Wiley, Fort Braden Family Resource Center Director, said.
Organizers say even students who technically have access to products may not always have reliable or comfortable options, creating ongoing distractions throughout the school day.
They say removing that stress can help students feel more confident, prepared, and focused in the classroom.
"I hope that it, you know, that it helps those young ladies to feel more comfortable and to feel more comfortable at school, knowing that they have access to anything they need," Lanter said.
Donations will continue throughout the summer to make sure young girls have the resources they need when they return to school in the fall.
Those interested in dropping off feminine hygiene products can visit the Fort Braden Family Resource Center or the Leon County Family Resource Center.
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