Share the Dignity and Retail First Shopping Centres have teamed up for the sixth year running to help women and girls in the local community dealing with period and incontinence poverty.

Retail First Shopping Centres have 20 locations across South East Queensland, where customers can donate sanitary items to local teenaged girls and women who are homeless or in need.

Share the Dignity collect donations nationwide in August to help local charities provide pads, tampons, liners, period underwear, reusable pads, and menstrual cups as well as incontinence pads and underwear to those that come to them for help.

Share the Dignity Founder Ms Rochelle Gilbert is hoping for another great collection from the Retail First centres.

“Our research indicates that 1 in 5 Australian women must improvise on period products due to the cost. We also know that a significant number of Australian women have resorted to using toilet paper, used a pad or tampon for more than four hours, or have needed to ask a friend to purchase products,” Ms Gilbert said.

“It is astounding how many people struggle to afford period products, which shows just how little this issue is spoken about. This only compounds the shame and stigma that still exists around menstruation, and we can’t end period poverty without first reducing this shame,” she said.

Retail First Head of Marketing, Ms Bec Gascoigne said that Retail First Shopping Centres are excited to be part of the Share the Dignity drive again.

“The donation drive is a wonderful opportunity for everyday shoppers to help a local woman or teenaged girl in need,” she said.

“Our customers have been so generous in previous donation drives and it has created a wonderful opportunity for everyday shoppers to help local women and teenaged girls in need.  Something as simple and inexpensive as a packet of tampons will make a great difference to a young Queensland woman in need next month,” Ms Gascoigne said.

“Rochelle’s stories about women and girls in crisis touched our hearts and we shed tears hearing of young girls not going to school while they have their period.   We knew we had to continue to be involved in this very worthy donation drive.”

Pink collection boxes will be located throughout Retail First shopping centres, as listed below or you can refer to the Our Centres page on the Retail First website.

List of shopping centres participating in the Share the Dignity across South East Queensland:

Southside:
Calamvale Central, Fairfield Gardens, Logan Central Plaza, Mt Gravatt Plaza, Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown, Sunnybank Plaza, and Sunny Park.

Westside:
Booval Fair, Mt Ommaney Centre, Redbank Plaza, and Toowong Village.

Northside:
Aspley Hypermarket, Brookside Shopping Centre, Peninsula Fair, Margate Village, Stafford City Shopping Centre, and Strathpine Centre.

Eastside:
Cannon Hill Kmart Plaza and Capalaba Park.

Gold Coast:
Australia Fair Shopping Centre