Across the country Monday, people have paid tribute to the legacy and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a day of service. Here in KELOLAND, some of the most vulnerable members of the community are benefiting from the kindness of others helping out with a need that might not always come to mind.
For many people, feminine hygiene products are always readily available. However, that's not the case for everyone.
"These are luxury items for many many women," Madeline Shields, development and marketing director at The Banquet, said. "These are not products that they can go out and purchase. If it's for them to decide whether they're going to put food on the table or milk on the table, or buy pads and tampons, they're probably going to go for the food and the milk to feed their families."
"This is the sixth consecutive year we've held it on Martin Luther King Day, and it's in service to The Banquet," Carmen Toft with Prairie Berry said. "We get everyone together, we have a great time, there's wine, there's beer, and we collect pads and tampons."
Toft says a friend heard a story about someone going to The Banquet with that specific need.
"She really thought that that was something that she had taken for granted, to be able to afford hygiene products whenever she needed them, and so that was a specific need that she found and so this party actually started in her living room several years ago," Toft said.
Now the event is at Prairie Berry East Bank, and this is a look at what they were able to gather tonight.
"They're all going to go to the Banquet, and we have guests that ask for feminine hygiene products all year, and it looks to me that there is going to be enough to supply our guests for the entire year," Shields said.
That this event happens on Martin Luther King Day is no coincidence.
"This was a way that we could serve very specific need for women in our community," Toft said.
"Unfortunately these are items that many many women go without," Shields said. "And the organizers of this event contacted the Banquet and said, can we do this for you, and of course we said absolutely."
This year, this drive brought in more than 49,000 individual items. They also got $461 donated in cash.
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