Kim Wu, West Jordan, UT Team Leader Days for Girls

On March 05, 2018 I had the opportunity to give an hour of service to the International Women’s Day celebration on Utah Valley University campus. I was not quite sure what service they needed done, but I was willing to help. The organization started due to a need for reusable pads for girls in developing countries. Girls in foreign countries were using unhealthy alternatives to pads, some resulted in serious sickness or even death. Many of them missed on average a week of school once a month because of their monthly cycle. This led to a high rate of drop outs among female students. To combat this, the Days for Girls Organization started.

Employees of Chick-fil-A of South Jordan

After I left the event at UVU I felt as though there was more I needed to do. An hour of service was not enough, and I knew once other people knew of the organization, they would help too. I reached out to the West Jordan Days for Girls chapter and they informed me they were in desperate need of girl’s underwear. So I made a video on Facebook asking my friends for help. Within a day of posting my video had over 1,500 views and 25 shares. I decided to make it as convenient as possible for people to help by making an Amazon list, accepting cash donations, and allowing drop off donations at my home. With the $325 I received in cash donations and the items dropped off at my home, we collected over 622 pairs of underwear!

Employees of Chick-fil-A of South Jordan

However collecting the underwear was simply not enough, more had to be done. I lead a service group at Chick-fil-A of South Jordan named “SOJO Serves” and knew my coworkers would love to help. With the support of my Operator Becky Pickle, we met with the Days for Girls organization and got to work on March 27, 2018. We sorted through the underwear, organizing them by size and color. We cut out cloth pads which would be later used in the hygiene kit. We had twenty-two employees show up and serve for two hours. We were able to create hundreds of hygiene kits which in turn will be used to save the lives of many girls in countries like Africa and India.

This would not have happened without the help of the Days for Girls organization, my amazing coworkers, and the many people who donated. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to be educated on the use of reusable hygiene products and how necessary they are for girls’ development. Because of this project I learned that if you wish to see change in the world, start with yourself.

                 Ezra Pugliano, Utah Valley University student