PORT ORANGE, Fla. — Getting your period at school can be an embarrassing and scary thing for young girls to deal with, but one Port Orange mom is working to change that.
- Mom Amber Carmen creating feminine hygiene bags for girls
- She wants to make a potentially overwhelming situation brighter
- Want to donate small bags/sanitary products? Drop them off at Volusia OBGYN in Daytona Beach
- More Volusia County coverage
She spent the summer packing small, brightly colored bags full of all the essential feminine hygiene items.
“We’ve included pads in each one, we have included panty liners, a pair of individually wrapped disposable underwear," said Amber Carmen, Assistant Manager at Volusia OB/GYN.
It all started over the summer while she was packing a bag with her daughter, getting her ready for changes middle school often brings.
“The idea was with the additional bags that we weren’t doing anything we could create for other girls who maybe would not be prepared and ready for the changes their body is going to be going through,” said Carmen.
Carmen thought the colorful little bags full of essentials could make an overwhelming situation a little brighter for young girls.
“I like this you know, this is cute, I’ll take that instead of it being more of a blah type of packaging, which is what you usually get with feminine-care product," said Carmen, imagining what the girls would think.
When word got out online about what she was doing, donations started pouring in and more people in other neighborhoods started making bags of their own.
“We’ve definitely gotten a lot further than I ever thought that we would,” said Carmen.
So far she’s donated over 200 bags to school nurses at a handful of schools. Many have already been put to use in places like Silver Sands Middle School.
“They get to pick out actually the ones they like even, so there is all different designs and stuff so they like it," said Kathy Pecoroni, the school nurse. "I had one student call her mom and say this place is great, they give you everything, and then told her that she came down here and I gave her the supplies."
While Carmen thought this would be a short little project with her daughter, now she has has no plans of stopping, knowing she is making a difference.
"As long as I continue to have people donate the bags, I’ll be happy to fill them and donate them to schools,” said Carmen.
If you would like to donate some small bags or sanitary products, you can drop them off at Volusia OBGYN at 500 Health Boulevard, Daytona Beach.