Gail Miller and Daughter Karen Williams Partner with SisterGoods, Utah Food Bank and Thirst to Raise Donations for Menstrual Products and Awareness for Period Poverty
Williams Donates $50,000 to SisterGoods through Utah Food Bank to Provide Period Products for Utah’s Women in Need; More than $350,000 Raised to Date
All Utah Thirst Locations to Donate 25 Percent of Proceeds to SisterGoods through Utah Food Bank on Feb. 10 from 5-10 pm
SANDY, UT (February 9, 2022) – Gail Miller and daughter Karen Williams will attend a SisterGoods event at Thirst in Millcreek to help raise awareness and to collect donations to supply period products to Utah’s most impacted women and girls.
In partnership with SisterGoods and Utah Food Bank, Williams has donated $50,000 to help deliver menstrual products to females in need throughout the state on an ongoing basis and bring SisterGoods’ fundraising total to $350,000 since August 2021.
Thirst will donate 25 percent of proceeds from all Utah locations to SisterGoods through Utah Food Bank between 5-10 pm on February 10. Thirst will also collect menstrual product donations.
One-in-seven teens in Utah cannot afford period products, and nearly 50 percent of women in poverty have to choose between a meal and sanitary items regularly. With “period poverty” affecting thousands of girls and women in Utah, SisterGoods partnered with Utah Food Bank in summer 2021 to purchase and gather needed supplies.
What: Fundraising event to support Utah women and girls in obtaining necessary menstrual products.
Where: Thirst, 3063 East 3300 South, Millcreek, Utah
When: February 10, 6:30-8 pm – Media presentation and remarks at 7 pm
Who:
Gail Miller – Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation
Kristin Andrus – SisterGoods Founder
Ginette Bott – Utah Food Bank President & CEO
Amy Dott Harmer – Utah Refugee Connection Director
Katie Bunnell – Live Your Dreams Foundation President
Kasandra VerBrugghen – Spy Hope Executive Director
BACKGROUND
“Learning of the challenges women and girls are facing due to the lack of period products was disheartening,” said Karen Williams, Miller Family Foundation. “The proper supply of menstrual products helps Utah women and girls find a more equitable footing when it comes to work attendance and learning in school. Families are faced with difficult decisions each day, and when they struggle with food insecurity, they have to choose between necessities. I hope that we can continue to pull together as a state and take this challenge off the table.”
“Utah’s food pantries and partner agencies see an overwhelming demand for menstrual products,” said Ginette Bott, Utah Food Bank President & CEO. “Cash contributions and product donations through our partnership with SisterGoods are making a huge difference for vulnerable females in our state. We know that 410,000 Utahns face hunger, and if they are having a hard time putting a necessity like food on their table, they are having an equally hard time ensuring they have period products.”
“I am never surprised, but always grateful, when Utahns come together to lift others and to help eradicate period poverty,” said Kristin Andrus, SisterGoods Founder. “The more we share these astonishing facts, the more people and organizations like Thirst, The Policy Project, Utah Food Bank, and the Miller family lean in and give their full support. What started by asking questions in one middle school has shed light on a problem that has been far overlooked. The needs in our state are great, and these partnerships highlight the Utah way of solving challenges through advocacy, service and love.”
Ninety percent of girls start their periods by age 13, and almost seven in 10 girls have missed school because of a lack of access to period products. This interrupts their ability to learn, as many girls in Utah are chronically absent from school because they cannot afford sanitary products.
Founded just last year after learning about the critical need for menstrual supplies at a local middle school, SisterGoods has a mission to create long-term “period security” for all females in the state of Utah. The first shipment was made possible by $50,000 in donations that came predominantly from women in Utah when they were made aware of an issue as pervasive as it is unspoken. Fundraising efforts are underway to solve the problem long-term, with totals now over $350,000. Working with The Policy Project, Sister Goods, the Andrus Family Foundation, and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Foundation, Utah legislators are considering a public/private partnership to provide period products in all Utah public and charter schools through House Bill 262 during the 2022 Utah Legislative Session.
All the funds Utah Food Bank receives from SisterGoods will go directly to the purchase of period products, which means Utah Food Bank will continue to focus on its primary mission, which is fighting hunger statewide. Donations can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sistergoods.
Contact:
Kristin Andrus, SisterGoods Founder, c: 801-824-7620, e: kristinannandrus@gmail.com
Heidi Cannella, Utah Food Bank Communications Director, c: 801-599-6700, e: heidic@utahfoodbank.org
Amanda Hansen, Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Public Relations Director, p: 801-563-4100, e: communications@lhm.com.
About SisterGoods
SisterGoods was founded in 2020 by Salt Lake resident Kristin Andrus after a Thanksgiving food drive at a local middle school where a social worker mentioned to her how desperate vulnerable populations in the state of Utah were for sanitary supplies. All funds raised are given directly to the Utah Food Bank and are exclusively used to purchase period products for those in need. To learn more about SisterGoods, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sistergoods.
About Utah Food Bank
Founded in 1904, Utah Food Bank has operated under various names but remains true to its mission of Fighting Hunger Statewide by providing food to a statewide network of 216 emergency food pantries and agencies. Last fiscal year, Utah Food Bank distributed 70.2 million pounds of food and goods, the equivalent of approximately 58.5 million meals, to families and individuals in need across the state. For more information about Utah Food Bank, visit www.utahfoodbank.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UtahFoodBank and Twitter at www.twitter.com/UtahFoodBank.
About Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation
The Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation was established in 2007 to continue the philanthropic spirit exemplified by Larry and Gail Miller for future generations. The Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation supports programs that enrich lives and communities in the areas of health and medicine, shelter and food security, education and training, jobs and economic self-reliance, and cultural and spiritual enrichment.
