Charlie Render

Period poverty is one of the most overlooked struggles, yet it still manages to affect more than 40 million people here in the United States alone, according to the Shriver Report. In January, the Jumpspark Strong Women Fellowship hosted a Zoom meeting to discuss the topics of period poverty, menstrual equity, and what the Atlanta community can do to create change. Lorrie L. King, former public health and humanitarian response professional, spoke to the group about how her experiences have taught her about the importance of advocating for menstrual aid projects and educating people on menstrual issues. Another big component of the event was involved with Project Dignity, a program created by the Jewish Federation to bring people facing period poverty the supplies and education they need to maintain menstrual hygiene. 

The event kicked off with a brief explanation of the purpose of Project Dignity, and Lorrie presented a video about period poverty. Produced with women experiencing homelessness in New York City, this video was made to open the eyes of people around the country to what unhoused people who menstruate go through each month. 

Many people living on the streets and facing poverty, in general, are forced to choose between necessary menstrual hygiene commodities and food because the products are overpriced. Rather than purchasing the typically expensive period products, people have resorted to using all types of materials to “take care” of their period. Some of these include napkins, socks, leaves, rags, and shirts, all of which do not meet the standards of safe-to-use products. 

Later in our session, the group began discussing the history behind periods and how the menstrual cycle used to be something celebrated but has slowly become something taboo and to be ashamed of among many cultures. Many menstruating people in places like Western Nepal are removed from their primary living spaces and sent to unsanitary huts while they are on their periods. These women are cast out and are forced to live in sheds with the farm animals because menstruating is considered to be dirty and impure. 

This culture of removing women from their homes and placing them in the subtropical elements, such as extreme temperatures and high altitudes, causes many women to be prone to further health issues and to die. Girls living in these areas have been neglected and are uneducated about their own bodies. They do not understand what happens to them every month, nor where the blood even comes from. This lack of education and information leads to extreme misinformation among the culture, which causes more pain and suffering for women. 

Period poverty is a global issue, but it also affects many people here in Atlanta, and Project Dignity also works to help create change locally. Periods are a personal topic, especially for young people who have to manage their period while going to school and maintaining education. This month, Project Dignity is focusing on donating menstrual products to high schools in the Atlanta community. According to a survey done by State of the Period, 1 in 5 teenagers suffer from period poverty, and many high schoolers who get their periods are not supplied with necessary items such as pads and tampons during their school week, which Project Dignity is trying to change. 

Periods should not be something that has to impair the education and school days of teenagers. Pads and tampons should be supplied in restrooms of public schools to ensure that no student will have to worry about how they will manage their period. 

Another major initiative of Project Dignity this month is to help provide menstrual products for local refugee centers. When refugees arrive in Atlanta, they are each given packs filled with essentials; however, these packs almost never include period supplies. Project Dignity has set up an Amazon wishlist to make it as easy as possible for people to donate period supplies. Both of these missions are equally important and can easily be achieved with the support and generosity of our community. 

Leah Moradi, 16, is a sophomore at The Weber School in Sandy Springs, GA, who enjoys being with friends, reading, and advocating for topics she is passionate about.

This article was originally published in VOX ATL. Read the full article here.

“Participating in the fellowships enabled me to make some of my closest Jewish friends from across the country and channel my passion for social change into real action,” writes JumpSpark Strong Woman Fellow Sarah Dowling.

Pictured: JumpSpark Strong Woman Fellows share community building time with activist Logan Zinman Gerber (top right)

Sarah: I first realized the need for meaningful and effective gun violence prevention legislation in 2016, when an angry former teacher at my sister’s school was intercepted by the police on his way back to school with a gun and ammunition he bought immediately after being fired. 

I learned to turn my passion into action by working with Logan Zinman Gerber, who runs a high school fellowship to teach teens across the country how to enact social change on topics like gun violence prevention, and, in the future, racial justice. Logan taught me about gun violence prevention in a social justice seminar held by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), and helped me present a speech to my United States congressional representatives alongside other Jewish teenagers from my community to lobby for gun violence prevention. 

About a month later, I joined two RAC fellowships, both of which were led by Logan. My gun violence prevention fellowship allowed me to learn about the complex issue in a nuanced light, providing me with the tools I needed for action. I looked forward to each session, and I never left a meeting without something new to think about. 

Participating in the fellowships enabled me to make some of my closest Jewish friends from across the country and channel my passion for social change into real action. For my culminating fellowship project, I led a voter registration campaign that reached over 500 people. Logan still continues to support and inspire me, and meeting with her as part of JumpSpark’s Strong Women Fellowship reminded me of the importance of activism and unity as a whole, especially in the context of the recent attack on the Capitol, which highlighted the division in our nation and reminded us that white supremacy still stands strong.

Eva: While many teens feel stranded this year, discovering opportunities to make a change regarding issues that are important to us is especially important in times as turbulent as the present. Whether we like it or not, our lives are changing, making it all the more important to reflect on our pasts and plan how we want to continue our journeys in the future just as Logan taught us. This year, I have opened my eyes to the world around me, and discovered for myself what issues are important to me. In the past, I have volunteered for a gun violence prevention organization. Hearing from Logan, who has done incredible work regarding gun violence prevention, really helped me to understand what a global issue gun violence is. With this new knowledge, I can decide for myself what I want to do in the future to create change, all while incorporating my Jewish identity. 

When Logan met with our Strong Women Fellowship in November, she pushed each of us to reflect on our own journeys and relationships with Judaism and activism thus far in our lives. Logan has spent the past two years leading teen gun violence prevention and civic engagement campaigns for the Reform Jewish Movement, connecting with half a million voters. In addition, she has been active in her outside work as the national volunteer coordinator for the American Cancer Society, where she assists people in coping with transition, as well as sharing their cancer stories. 

Our session with Logan fostered a greater sense of connection and understanding between the members of our Fellowship. In one activity where we created timelines of our Jewish journey, we found countless similarities among the handful of other girls in our breakout groups. In particular, we all found that while times of isolation from the Jewish community hurt us emotionally in the moment, in the end, these times pushed us to find our own connection to Judaism and only worked to strengthen our Jewish identities. The farther each of us got from Judaism, the stronger our desire for connection grew.

In addition, Logan connected activism and making change to the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing the world. Writing anonymously on a Padlet (an online discussion board, where we had posted questions for everyone to reflect upon), several Strong Women Fellows described this connection and how it inspires them: 

“Tikkun olam inspires me to create change. It is also powerful to know that helping in the world was something that my ancestors did.” 

Another Strong Women Fellow described Judaism as “… the coffee in my activism – it fuels everything I do.”

Making these connections was both powerful for us as Jews, and as activists as well. In addition to empowering us to examine our own connections to Judaism and activism, Logan gave the Strong Women Fellows resources we need to pursue tikkun olam in the future, such as her gun violence prevention campaign geared toward young people. 

“There are so many amazing resources out there to help others get registered to vote,” one Strong Women Fellow wrote on the Padlet. 

By giving us the knowledge we need to make personal connections to Judaism and the principle of tikkun olam, meeting with Logan inspired us to create positive change in the world in a way that models our Jewish values.

What we found to be the biggest takeaway from our meeting was that anyone can make a difference. We realized that we all can work to create a world we want to live in and that our work does not have to wait. Each of us has issues we care about, from gun violence to racial justice to climate change to reproductive rights, so we can all fight to create change, one step at a time.

Eva Beresin, 16, is a sophomore at The Weber School in Sandy Springs, GA, who enjoys reading and spending time with friends.

Sarah Dowling, 16, is a junior at The Lovett School in Atlanta who enjoys listening to music and reading

This article was originally published by VOX ATL. Read the full article here.

Caroline Rothstein, an internationally touring writer, spoken word poet and performer, spoke to a group of Atlanta teens about your own personal gods, Judaism in today, self-love, anti-semitism, and reincarnation, inspiring us to take her words into our lives and realize a greater truth in the world we face as young and Jewish women. 

Rothstein has performed poetry, recited speeches, and led workshops at colleges, schools, community organizations, and other performance spaces. She was able to present to us in an interactive, non-toxic, yet inspiring space — even on Zoom. 

Last fall, we had an amazing opportunity to get to know Rothstein prior to the JumpSpark Strong Women Fellowship full-group meeting. We learned how to effectively interact in a safe space on topics she planned to bring to the Jewish teens across Atlanta who come together (now virtually) to empower, learn from, and educate each other so we could take her experiences to benefit our own.

As soon as the famous “ding-dong” went off in the Zoom call, we were immediately struck by Caroline’s energy and presence. Despite being virtual, her contagious smile translated extremely well and lit up the (virtual) workspace. She immediately made us feel welcome and relieved for the discussion. She asked how everyone was doing on the call, and it felt so natural to speak with her. 

Quite frankly, prior to the call, we figured we would probably talk about whatever the speaker-of-the-month wanted to talk about, having the common somewhat-awkward Zoom call atmosphere. But Caroline was different. Instead of having an already prepared and rigid event, we were able to discuss with her what we thought the event should be about. We kicked off our discussion by talking broadly about matters we think are vital to discuss today, with ideas like body image and racial injustices. 

Caroline did not just hear, but listened to the actual words we were saying. It felt extremely personable that we were able to guide and facilitate the focus of the event, while understanding that with the constantly changing world, the subject matter could change. 

Around two days prior to the large-group meeting, Caroline sent us an email, pretty much checking in, asking if we thought the topic we had decided on was still applicable and was tailored appropriately for the culture of the world. Caroline teaches us how to observe the world around us and illustrate the idea of recognition of our surroundings. The flexibility Caroline taught and encouraged helped this group of teens to understand how omnipresent issues in the world are ever changing.

During the full group event, Caroline shared her poems and performed spoken word. She was able to convey a message and strong feelings through each poem. We could see how strong she is, as she was able to be so vulnerable through her poetry. 

We also did a couple writing exercises. We loved the letter we wrote to ourselves. Miriam wrote about how sometimes in her busy life she needs to take a moment to think and have a peaceful moment.

“Dear Miriam of the past, Life may be hectic so it’s alright to take a bit more time for yourself sometimes. Stay in your bed longer if you want or do a 15 step skincare routine.”

Overall, Caroline was an amazing speaker, and we’d love to hear more of her poems in the future. She left us with the feeling that it is OK to be every single part of ourselves, no matter the circumstances or how different you are. Because of Caroline, in the future, we feel that we will be able to do what we want in our professional and personal lives.

Miriam Raggs is a 10th grader at The Weber School and Noa Young is a 10th grader at North Springs High School. Both are second-year Fellows and Peer Leaders for the JumpSpark Strong Women Fellowship.

Read the original article published in VoxAtl here.