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For Immediate Release  

Parkside Lutheran Church is Collecting Period Products for Lent  

Social Media post goes the right kind of ‘viral’ resulting in the donations of thousands of pads and tampons.   Every year for the season of Lent, Parkside Lutheran Church challenges its members to collect and donate a specific item. This year Pastor Jeremiah picked an often-requested item but one rarely donated… menstrual hygiene products. Studies have shown that 1 in 5 girls have missed school at some point due the lack of access to period products. Persons who menstruate shouldn’t have to worry about how they are going to afford these products. Through this collection the church is hoping to combat the stigma around periods, raise awareness around about ‘period poverty’ and other issues of inequality such as the ‘pink tax.’  

A local artist, Heather Schieder heard about Parkside’s Lenten collection and created works of art to raise awareness. She shared these images along with Parkside’s Amazon Wishlist of period products with her 28,000 Instagram followers. Heather writes in one of her works of art, “Jesus is not afraid of Blood. We should not be, either.” The church was soon inundated with thousands of donations from around the country. The collection continues now through the end of March. Folks can make donations via the church website parksidelutheran.org or purchase from their Amazon Wish list https://tiny.cc/PLCWishList   

 Heather Schieder

Instagram: @ heatherschiederillustrates_