Wood County Women’s Rights Alliance cuts ribbon on community Period Pantry
From left, Amanda Moore, Isabelle Moore, Nicole Knight, Marley Unensetter and Laura Goodrich attend the ribbon cutting for the Period Pantry. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
Members of the community could enjoy free cookies and chat with the Wood County Women’s Rights Alliance for more information about the organization and women’s health. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
The Period Pantry box includes all types of donated female products that the public can access outside of Westbrook Health Services. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
The Wood County Women’s Rights Alliance built and painted the Period Pantry from donations and help from the public. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
The ribbon cutting took place from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday outside of the Westbrook Health Services at 2501 Dudley Ave., Parkersburg. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
From left, Amanda Moore, Isabelle Moore, Nicole Knight, Marley Unensetter and Laura Goodrich attend the ribbon cutting for the Period Pantry. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
Members of the community could enjoy free cookies and chat with the Wood County Women’s Rights Alliance for more information about the organization and women’s health. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
The Period Pantry box includes all types of donated female products that the public can access outside of Westbrook Health Services. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
The Wood County Women’s Rights Alliance built and painted the Period Pantry from donations and help from the public. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
The ribbon cutting took place from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday outside of the Westbrook Health Services at 2501 Dudley Ave., Parkersburg. (Photo by Amber Phipps)
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PARKERSBURG -- The Wood County Women's Rights Alliance held a ribbon cutting for the Period Pantry on Wednesday afternoon.
The event commemorated the installment of a bright pink outdoor stand full of menstrual period products available to the public.
The Period Pantry is located outside of Westbrook Health Services at 2501 Dudley Ave., Parkersburg.
The ribbon-cutting event featured a pop-up tent with more information about the WCWRA as well as cookies and period products. WCWRA Founder Isabelle Moore was able to connect with individuals in the community and provide more information about the group to those who are interested.
Moore started the WCWRA in November as a way to provide resources and community for women and LGBTQIA+ individuals in the area.
"I'm a speech therapist but I have a passion for women and women's rights," said Moore.
Wednesday's ribbon cutting was made possible through fundraising and donation events earlier in the year. Moore said that through these fundraising events, roughly 3,500 feminine products were donated to WCWRA.
"It was really exciting to see the whole community get involved, and so I thought, 'let's continue it,'" said Moore.
The Period Pantry was the result of an anonymous post on the group's Facebook page saying they were having trouble finding period products. Moore realized that there weren't any period pantries in the area and decided it'd be a good idea to have one for the community.
"We are in the process of becoming a nonprofit but right now it's community funded," said Moore. "As soon as I posted that we were going to have a box, within a couple of hours people had sent in enough money to build and paint it."
Moore said that the response from the community has been really positive. The WCWRA hosts a variety of events with the focus on bringing people together and providing resources.
The WCWRA Facebook page includes all of the group's recent and upcoming events, which community members are encouraged to attend.
"It's been nice to find like-minded people and I think a lot of people have also been looking for other like-minded people so we just continue to find each other," said Moore.
The WCWRA holds public meetings on the third Thursday of each month at the First Presbyterian Church on Juliana Street in Parkersburg.
On May 17 the WCWRA will be hosting Cocktails and Contraceptives from 7 to 10 p.m. at 130 Front St., Marietta.
Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com