GUELPH POLITICAST #87 - Holly Mastrogiacomo, Guelph's #TamponTuesday

When you think about the essentials, the things that you need on a daily basis, what do you think about? Food, shelter, and clothing are obviously the big three, and once you've got those maybe you start thinking about other essentials: a tooth brush, toilet paper, and if you're of the female persuasion, you're probably also thinking about tampons...

By now, you've probably heard about Tampon Tuesdays. It started in 2009 in London, ON, but it's carried on through to other cities, including Guelph, where Holly Mastrogiacomo of Smitten Apparel has taken it upon herself to be a community champion and fill the need for feminine hygiene products at the city's various aid agencies. So far, it's been pretty big success.

This is a fascinating topic on a number of levels, and we address many of them on this week's podcast. Sure, there's the direct issue of how Holly and her donors are filling a need that wasn't being met, but there's the broader issue of gender equity too. In Canada, there was a fight to take the HST off tampons and other products, and in the States there's legislation before committee in Congress demanding Menstruation with Dignity. It's almost as if there's a movement afoot.

In the meantime, Holly and friends are collect pads, and making a pretty good success of it while they're at it. So this week we talk about the mission, why it matters, and what it means to think outside the [tampon] box in terms of meeting the needs of city's vulnerable citizens.

So this week, Tampon Tuesday is on a Wednesday, at least so far as the Guelph Politicast is concerned.

If you want to give a box of tampons or pads to the #TamponTuesday efforts, you can drop them off at Smitten Apparel at 259 Grange Road, Unit #11, and you can also get in touch with Holly at the store's website by clicking here.

The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.

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