Girl Pack gains success in schools all over Milton Keynes but what is it?

A registered charity, Girl Pack was formed four years ago by two teenagers and their mums who had noticed the problems that their friends were facing gaining access to sanitary items.

The girls, Paige Pilkington and Megan Head, had noticed that sometimes their friends were left in embarrassing or in uncomfortable situations if they started their period unexpectedly in school.

The reasons for this are multiple and include lack of money, cultural differences, or having no women to approach for support.

The charity aimed to change this by supplying free packs of sanitary items to over 30 schools, children's centres and community fridges across Milton Keynes.

Inside the packs, there is a clean, new pair of knickers, sanitary towels, hygienic wipes and hand sanitiser.

Girl Pack works hard asking for donations of the items and also fundraisers to buy them items from within the community. Last year they handed out 1500 packs and also gave a large supply to refugees from Afghanistan arriving in MK.

Recently they have sent six boxes of products over to help the effort in Ukraine most recently.

This week Inspiring Futures through Learning (IFtL) – a multi-academy Trust of 15 schools with their head office based in Fairfields, Milton Keynes, announced it is collaborating with the charity to give it a boost.

From next term, all IFtL schools will become donation stations for the charity where parents and staff can bring in sanitary products.

They will be providing each school within the IFtL family with a selection of girl packs, which will also be available in our primary schools for children who may start their period unexpectedly.

A spokesman for IFtL said: “Girl Pack appreciate that not everyone who menstruates identifies as A woman, and at some point this year they are hoping to become more inclusive by changing their charity name from Girl Pack Group Chat to something that celebrates everyone that menstruates.

For more information on Girl Pack email [email protected].

You can learn more about Girl Pack charity here. There is also a JustGiving page for donations here. £100 enables the charity to provide 100 complete packs.