Local women-owned businesses are rallying around four local teens and their dreams to end period poverty in Dayton. Speakeasy Yoga is partnering with Femme Aid Collaborative, a non-profit dedicated to ending period poverty in Dayton, to collect period products and donations at both of its downtown studios.
Femme Aid Collaborative, founded in 2018 by local high school students Ryann Mescher, Dana Clark, Zoe Waller and Claire Parker, hopes to put 100,000 period products into the community over the course of 2019 by collecting products and distributing them to local nonprofits such as PATH, Linda Vista, and Daybreak. Speakeasy Yoga has partnered with the collaborative, donating $1,000 from its New Year’s Day class and launching an ongoing collection effort at the 510 East 3rd Street and 204 Wayne Avenue studios. Speakeasy will also rotate Femme Aid Collaborative in as one of the recipients of its monthly community class proceeds.
Tori Reynolds, co-owner of Speakeasy Yoga, has seen women in downtown Dayton struggling to support their feminine hygiene needs first-hand.
“Access to proper feminine hygiene products should be a right, not a luxury” said Reynolds. “Women should continue to be celebrated for all that we’re capable of and what we’re given naturally all year round. I’m excited to have the opportunity to partner with young, empowered women to do that.”
Heart Mercantile and Luna Gifts & Botanicals are also partnering to support the Femme Aid Collaborative with donation boxes at each of their downtown stores.
“It’s amazing to see that these fellow women have our back.” said Ryann Mescher of Femme Aid Collaborative. “It’s our community, so it feels like all of our problem to solve.”
In addition to collecting and distributing 100,000 period products in 2019, Femme Aid Collaborative aims to be the centralized collection agency for feminine hygiene products in Montgomery County. Nonprofits in need of feminine hygiene products can apply for support at femmeaid.com.
Speakeasy will launch its collection efforts at its 510 East 3rd Street and 204 Wayne Avenue studios on Friday, March 8 in conjunction with International Women’s Day. The studio opens twenty minutes prior to each class and a schedule can be found at speakeasydayton.com.
