By Danielle Ray
Landmark correspondent
HOLDEN — When it came to selecting a project for her Girl Scouts Gold Award, rising Wachusett Regional High School senior Verena Welch knew exactly what she wanted to focus on: period poverty.
It’s an issue the 17-year-old first learned about in middle school.
“Period poverty is the inadequate access to period products, hygiene facilities, waste management, and education that persists around the world, along with the ignorance about menstruation and women’s bodily autonomy that worsens this issue,” Welch shared. “Although this problem may not be as prevalent in our local area compared to other places in the U.S. and the world, it stuck with me, and I became determined to make a change and combat period poverty in my local community.”
Welch has been working on her Gold Award over the last several months. She has collected donations of period products such as tampons and pads for local pantries, secured complimentary period products in bathrooms and offices at the high school, and is fighting period poverty through educational resources and passage of the “I AM” bill in Massachusetts.
She hopes to get more people involved with donations and advocacy, and said it is “exciting to be able to share this work with the community.”
“One of the best ways to make change is through collective advocacy,” Welch said. “I encourage members of the community to learn more about period poverty and ways they may be able to help through spreading information, donating or bringing new insight and ideas to the table.”
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador can earn by completing a full take-action project addressing an issue in the community. Welch, who has lived in Holden since she was 2, feels strongly that focusing on period poverty and the “stigma” that surrounds menstruation is essential.
“Period stigma leads to inadequate information available about menstruation, period products and policies that allow or restrict access to period supplies,” she said. “Many people are misinformed that periods are shameful and only a women’s issue, when in reality menstruation is normal and experienced by many people including women, transgender men, and nonbinary people. I think many people are skeptical of talking about a personal issue like periods, and also too overwhelmed by the scope of the problem to make change. I believe my project is needed because normalizing these conversations and making an effort is the only way to make change. Fighting period poverty helps to both provide period supplies to those in need, and to educate the greater community about an important issue in the world.”
She worked to create a donation system through her church, Immanuel Lutheran in Holden, to provide period products to local pantries and food fridges in the Worcester area, which became the foundation of her Gold Award project. She built upon that work by introducing period products at the high school. Welch created a pilot program to make period products available in multiple bathrooms and offices at the high school, where they were not allowed before.
The products come from donations from Immanuel Lutheran and through donations and funding from the high school’s National Honors Society chapter.
“The project has grown immensely despite facing some challenges,” Welch said. “I was unsure about how much I could accomplish at my age and with the difficulties of period stigma and ignorance, but I am amazed by how much has been accomplished.”
She is currently working with the high school administration to find outside organizations that may be able to fund period products after facing “a few initial setbacks from the district over concerns about the logistics of the project.”
“After great conversations and continued support from Superintendent Dr. (James)] Reilly, I was able to launch the program, which has been running with great success in the school,” Welch said. “I am so grateful for the incredible support from members of my church congregation who have donated so many products and made such an impact on my project.”
She is also involved in advocating for the “I AM” bill, which is in the Joint Committee on Public Health and “needs to be reported out favorably to continue moving forward in the process.”
“The I AM bill received immense media attention and support in the last legislative session, but unfortunately never made it to a final vote or passing and had to be recalled this session,” Welch said. “The passing of the bill would ensure period products in schools, shelters and prisons in the state. What we need is more attention, pressure and support for the passing of the bill, as legislative change will be the most impactful for those facing the detrimental effects of period poverty.”
While her Gold Star project will likely be coming to a close over the summer due to her achievements so far with donations, education and advocacy, the determined young woman said she “will continue working toward fighting period poverty and sharing this issue more with the community.”
“The passing of the I AM bill would be an incredible accomplishment for the state and would help achieve many of my project goals, but until that point, I’ve taken steps to connect with others willing to help sustain my project after I graduate, through continuing donations to the pantries and high school and ensuring the issue is not forgotten,” she said.
She appreciates the support she has received for her project, and that “all of the community members that are a part of it have taught me so much.”
“I feel I have a deeper understanding of this issue and how to create change in areas I care about, which is a skill I intend to carry with me throughout my life. I’m interested in studying medicine and policy in college, and will continue to fight period poverty wherever I go.”
For more information on period poverty and Welch’s Gold Star project, follow @periodproductsforallgoldaward on Instagram (instagram.com/periodproductsforallgoldaward) and Linktree.
