Nonprofit organization providing menstrual supplies to girls

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Miles don't matter when you have motivation that comes from the heart.

“It takes a community to do this work. So, I'm just one person. With only one car for now,” laughed Tashina Figueroa.

Figueroa is the founder of Girl Flow, a Charlotte-based nonprofit.

“We hear it all the time, school supplies, school supplies. Help Title I schools with school supplies. Well, menstrual products are school supplies. This is what young people need,” she said.

The nonprofit organization provides education, support and menstrual products to girls. Figueroa and volunteers travel to different counties in the Charlotte metro area.

“We currently serve Mecklenburg County, Gaston County (and) we are in Lancaster County. If I have to come to you to provide the service, that removes a barrier,” she explained.

Girl Flow partners with Title I schools and organizations to ensure teen girls have what they need.

“In our larger packs, we have three pads, three wipes, three liners and a wonderful inspiration card,” she mentioned as she pulled out a menstrual kit.

Figueroa says she started the nonprofit in 2015. It was formerly known as Covered Girls.

Several years later, she decided to change her name and expand her reach.

“Many of these families have multiple children at home. So you have several girls at home who need these products on a monthly basis. So yes, they are expensive,” Figueroa explained.

According to data from the Alliance for Period Supplies, 20 states, including North Carolina, currently impose a sales tax on menstrual products.

This month, South Carolina lawmakers voted to end the “tampon tax.”

Data from the Alliance for Period Supplies shows that one in four people struggle to buy menstrual supplies.

“People are trying to figure out how to budget and how to maintain what they have. We will therefore intensify our efforts. I would love to serve more schools,” Figueroa shared. “It’s a bittersweet thing. I know the need is there, but I only see it growing.

During the last quarter of the school year, she said they distributed more than 3,000 menstrual products to young girls.

Girl Flow is now working to help girls in Cabarrus and Union counties.