41. Tiffany Larson with 'Days for Girls' and Working to Create a World Where Periods Are Never a Problem

'Days for Girls' is an organization that is working to improve the livelihood for women and girls all over the world, through education and by providing the resources necessary to eliminate the stigma and limitations associated with menstruation. My guest on the podcast this week, Tiffany Larson, is the CEO of 'Days for Girls' and she highlights so well all the many ways their organization is impacting communities and cultures throughout the world.

She shares the moving story of how 'Days for Girls' got started. She also talks about the patented period kits they make and the education they give when they distribute those kits to different communities. I was especially so inspired by the personal stories she shares near the end of the episode illustrating the ways 'Days for Girls' is truly making a difference to help women and girls feel empowered and break the stigma their cultures have around periods and menstruation.

I first heard about 'Days for Girls' many years ago when I volunteered to help make kits for their organization, and it was truly a mind-blowing and educational experience for me as I learned about these needs in cultures all over the world. Listen to the podcast and you might also hear something that educates and inspires you!

Links mentioned in the episode:
Days for Girls Website
Days for Girls Instagram
Days for Girls Facebook
'The Power of Days' book by Celeste Mergens

Follow the podcast on social media:
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Do Something More Facebook

Transcript

Melissa: You are listening to the do something more podcast, and this is episode 41 with Tiffany Larson and Days for girls, working to create a world where periods are never a problem. To the Do Something more podcast podcast, a service oriented show where we highlight the helpers who inspire us all to do something more. I'm your host, Melissa Draper. Thank you so much for being here. Welcome to another episode of the podcast, and I'm really excited to learn about this organization that we're featuring today, days for girls, not only because of the good service that they do, but the causes that they champion and educate on as well. So today, my guest for the podcast is the CEO of Days for Girls, Tiffany Larson. Tiffany, welcome to the show.

Tiffany: Thank you so much. I am really looking forward to this conversation, and thank you so much for having me and highlighting the work that days for girls is doing.

Melissa: Yeah, well, why don't you go and start off with just giving us a little introduction of yourself and then a small introduction of days for girls and what it is.

Tiffany: Okay, well, like you said, my name is Tiffany Larson. I am the CEO of Days for Girls. I've been with the organization since 2016, and I love this work. I think before I talk more about myself, I think it would be best to introduce days for girls. It'll all make more sense then. But dates for girls started in 2008, and Days for girls started. Our founder, Celeste Mergens, was working with a group in Kenya and had been working with an orphanage. And there was the post election violence of 2008, and the orphanage that was intended to house 40, the numbers falled to 400 and then to 1400. And the director of the orphanage reached out to her saying, we're having trouble feeding the children. Is there anything that you can do to help? And she flew into action, very concerned. She obviously knew some of the children there, knew the people, and really wanted to do anything that she could do to help and did the things that she could think of. And she ended up sitting up in bed. After she had done everything that she could, she went to bed, sat straight up in the middle of the night with a question running through her mind. Have you asked what the girls are doing for feminine hygiene? And she says that she gasped. She said, I hadn't even thought of it. And all the times working with them on various things, that thought had never even come to her mind. And so she went to the computer and she emailed the director of the orphanage, and she asked that question. Have you asked what the girls are doing for feminine hygiene? And nighttime in the US is daytime in Kenya. And so she got an answer back very quickly, saying nothing. They sit in their room, and as she asked questions, she found out that the girls were sitting on a piece of cardboard in their room for the duration of their period because they had no products to adequately take care of their period. And so she obviously, as any of us, would think, oh, my gosh, I've got to do something about this. And so her first thought was disposable products, because that's what she was used to using. That's what a lot of different people use. And then she realized that as she looked into things more and realized that this wasn't just an issue just for this orphanage in Kenya, this was a global issue for many, many women and girls around the world. And she realized that if she was able to fundraise, to get disposable products for these girls for one month, that was going to have to happen month after month. There wasn't the trash infrastructure to dispose of the products properly. There was just a lot of problems with disposable products. And so she set out to design a washable pad that could be used month after month, and she was able to go and deliver these washable products. The first iteration. We've now been through many, many iterations and improved upon the first one, but she was able to deliver those. And when she realized the extent of how lack of access to menstrual solutions is impacting the lives of women and girls throughout the world, that was when days for girls was born. So days for girls began as a very grassroots, volunteer led organization, and it has evolved a lot since 2008. We've learned a lot. We're learning better and better how to respond to the needs of girls all over the world. But that is days for girls. And I got involved, I ended up. I was working with another organization that works with the leprosy affected in India. And I happened to meet a days for girls volunteer in one of the leprosy colonies in southern India. And as soon as I just said, wait, what are you doing? I wanted to know everything about what she was doing. I have a background in international development, and when I learned what this was, and I also had the same experience that Celeste had. Celeste is the founder of Days for Girls of I have never thought of that. I've been in international development. And the thought never occurred to me. Embarrassed that I had never thought of it, but then realizing, oh, my goodness, yes, this is an issue. And then as I learned more about the issue and realized that there's all these different things as you're working on international development, there's all these different things that communities need to thrive. There's issues with food scarcity, access to clean water, there's things with economic empowerment, education, gender based violence. There's all these different things. And truly any of those indicators for them to make the improvement that's needed. If menstrual health is not addressed, then women can't really make the progress in any of those areas because there is potentially an invisible barrier. But we now know what it is that if we don't address that five days a month, she doesn't have what she needs. So, yeah, it made me want to get involved and I got involved with days for girls and have never looked back. It's a really exciting thing to be a part of. The need is great. There's 500 million women and girls worldwide that don't have what they need to manage their menstruation properly each month, which is 25% of the world's population of menstruating women. And so the need is great. But the good news is that there is a solution and it's scalable and it's doable, it's tangible. And so it's just really exciting because you get to see a lot of progress happening, very meaningful impact that makes a really big difference on a lot of areas of women's lives. And then if you're making a difference in women's lives, you're making a difference in families lives and communities, and then whole countries. Absolutely. A little bit about these for girls and me.

Melissa: I love that you started with that story because I had the opportunity and it's been a while, it's been probably eight or nine years to volunteer. Our church group, our women's group made some kits, but we had a chapter leader had come and that is how she started out. She told that story to us and to me, that just added so much to the service and the work we were doing. Many times you gather as a group to make kits or to do things like that, but you don't have an image or a true education of why this is so needed. And so I remember that story because it was like, okay, we're ready, let's go to work.

Tiffany: I want to be part of the solution.

Melissa: Yeah, I want to be part of it right now. Have that education and to realize it's needed and the impact you can have.

Tiffany: Yeah.

Melissa: So you do have chapters and teams all over that do different work. Do you want to just explain kind of the logistics of that a little bit, yeah, absolutely.

Tiffany: So we are really fortunate at days for girls. Our founder talks about the power of we, that this is an issue that is a big need in the world, and that, as many of us rally together and say, this matters, menstruation matters, and we're going to do something about it. The power of we, of all of us standing together can create amazing impact. So we are really fortunate at days for girls to have an army of volunteers that are committed to making sure that we're creating a world where periods are never a problem. And so we have about 20,000 volunteers throughout the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. There's a couple of other locations, but those are the primary areas. So we have groups that are led by either a team leader or a chapter leader, and they decide that they want to make a difference in menstrual health and then gather people in their communities and in their networks, and so they sew the days for girls kit. And then that is one of the ways that we get days for girls kits into the hands of women. We also have a social enterprise program. We talk about encircling the world with two arms of love. And so we have our volunteer side, and then we have social enterprises, which we have in 28 countries. And these are countries primarily in Latin America, Africa and Asia. These social enterprises are small businesses. And they are taught business skills. They're taught sewing skills. They're taught to deliver our education that goes along with our product. It's kind of like a franchise model, but nonprofit. And so they're basically a days for girls business in their local community. And so then they're able to make the product, employ other women to make the product, and then sell the product in their community. And so sometimes that looks like selling it to other women in their community. It sometimes looks like them getting connected with government or other nonprofits or businesses in their community or country, and then those entities financing the purchase and then getting them to girls that way. It also often looks like people from outside of the country that care about people in the country. And they can put an order through our website that they. For example, I'll just use the example of Kenya, because we've been talking about Kenya. We have quite a few social enterprises in Kenya. If someone wants to get kits to girls in Kenya, they can go to our website and order kits. And then we have a coordinator that connects with the social enterprises. They put the order in. And then even people can travel to Kenya and be there for the distribution and get to meet the girls. But it kind of doubles and even triples the impact because you're not just reaching that end, girl. What you're doing as well is you're also employing a woman and creating generational change from an economic empowerment standpoint. So that's the one side. And then our volunteers are absolutely amazing. And we have started some new work over the last five or so years that we're working with our volunteer kits that are made by volunteers that we have partnered with other organizations that have experience and have the logistics and infrastructure in place to do disaster relief. And so we have started a model where we have three collection points in the US. We have one in Utah, one in Missouri, and one in Pennsylvania. And so when these chapters and teens are creating and sewing the days for girls kit, they have the option to send them into one of our collection points. And we have a team of volunteers there that quality check and get them ready to go and then put them on pallets ready for shipping and then get them to these partner organizations. And so we're actually able to respond. Just this year alone, we've reached 40,000 girls in disaster and humanitarian crises. And so this is areas where individual volunteers are not equipped to go into earthquake settings or worse situations. But what we can do is we can partner with organizations that do have the infrastructure to do that. And so this year, we've been able to respond and reach girls for the turkey and Syria earthquake that happened earlier this year. We were able to respond to the Ukraine crisis. We were able to respond to the Morocco earthquake, and then we just recently were able to get support into Gaza. And so we're really kind of ramping up that side of our work because in disaster and humanitarian crises, so often the unique needs of women and girls are overlooked. And so as we approach organizations that are doing other types of support, they're like, oh, wow. Yeah, we also need to do this. And so we supply the supplies and they get them into the women. So, yeah, that's a little bit about how we're structured.

Melissa: That's amazing. So many different areas for anyone that wants to get involved, so many ways you're having an impact. And I love that you mentioned how you've used those even to help in those disaster situations, because I remember thinking that myself helping with those kits like these are ingenious. I want some of these in case these would be great to have for any situation. So do you want to explain a little bit what those kits are? They include how they're put together?

Tiffany: Yeah, absolutely. So I believe we're on our 31st iteration, our 31st pattern of the days for girls kit. Since that original pattern that was developed in 2008 and every single one iteration has been improved upon because of feedback from girls that we're working with. But the kit is a washable product. It's in a bright. This is when I wish we were on video.

Melissa: There were some great images on the website.

Tiffany: Okay, good. We'll put a link to that. So the days for girls kit is in a bright and colorful fabric bag. It's got a drawstring at the top, and it's beautiful. And the kit itself actually is a big part of the stigma that we are breaking down because there's so much stigma and shame attached to menstruation, in addition to girls just not having what they need, there's a lot of misinformation or misunderstanding, a lot of shame and stigma attached to girls menstruating. And so them receiving something that's bright and colorful and soft, that alone, in addition to the education that we provide, it does something to girls. And you can see that when they're receiving it, it's really beautiful. But the kit is in a bright and colorful bag. The kit will last a girl, we say, for two to three years, but we often have girls that if they're taking care of them really well, which we teach them how to do, they're lasting for five plus years. So it will be a solution that a girl can use and count on month after month that she has what she needs. She can wash it. It's right there for her, and she'll have what she needs so she can keep going to school, or women can keep going to work or whatever. All the amazing things that girls do in the world, they can keep doing all of those things. But the kit includes something that we call a shield, which kind of looks like a pad with wings, and that has a snap that snaps underneath the underwear to securely hold it in place. It has a waterproof liner sewn into the inside of it. That piece of the kit is not absorbent at all. It's simply designed to shield so that nothing comes through and that the girls can be really confident. And then we have something called a liner. It's made of cotton flannel, and it is kind of in a square shape with rounded corners. And there is two layers of flannel sewn together. And what the girls will do is they'll kind of trifold the flannel liner so that it kind of is like you're folding a piece of paper into a business envelope kind of that motion. And so that fits into the shield. The shield has pockets, and so it just fits right into there. And so that when they trifold it and already has two layers to begin with, they end up having six layers of absorbent flannel that absorbs. And then they can fit up to three of those liners into a shield. So they can do one, two, or three to manage their flow. On light days, they can just use one heavy flow. They can use three. And so they have a lot of layers of absorbent flannel. And the beautiful thing, one of the beautiful things about this particular design is that the liner that is the part that is soiled and needs to be washed and hung up every single time is that it's just a square piece of flannel. It looks kind of like a handkerchief or something. It does not look like a menstrual product. And again, they're made out of bright, colorful fabric to hide stains. Because if you're washing and drying something and you have a clothesline out in your yard, who wants to hang a soiled menstrual product out in their front yard to dry? So it doesn't look like anything to do with the menstrual product. It just looks like a handkerchief.

Melissa: Another piece of laundry.

Tiffany: Yeah, exactly. So in each kit, two of the shields are included, eight of the liners, which we've learned over time as the exact right quantity and for the girls to manage their menstruation. The kit also comes with two pairs of underwear. Underwear is a luxury in many parts of the world. And we also include a washcloth. We include a travel size bar of soap. Soap usually is available, but in our education, we teach hygiene and proper use and care of the kit. And so we do provide the travel size bar of soap so that right away they're able to use that and to incorporate the things that they've just been taught. And then they can have time to go and source that from wherever in their village or wherever that they can get soap to get more. And then we also have something that we call a carry pouch. Originally, in the kit, there was a ziploc bag that girls could use to store their products as they went throughout the day, that if they had a soiled liner, they can take it out and have something to put it in until they got home. And even something that they can use to rinse out the product, they can rinse it out a couple of times, and then they're able to just throw it in with the rest of their laundry. But we have been working with various countries for a while, and over the last several years, there's been laws put in place against single use plastics. And so we're no longer using the Ziploc pad. We have a sewn product now that's made of bright, beautiful fabric. It is a pul material, so it's waterproof, and it looks like kind of a big envelope with a flap over it. And so it kind of does the same thing, but it's piece.

Melissa: Yeah.

Tiffany: So, yeah, that's the days for girls, kid.

Melissa: That's great. And I love how you mentioned that with the distribution of those, you also do education.

Tiffany: Yes. And the education is just as, if not more important than the product itself. We've learned that over time, and our education is about 90 minutes. We cover what puberty is. We talk about what menstruation is anatomically. We show them pictures of the inside of. This is a uterus, and this is how big it is. It's a muscle, and it expands to hold a baby and then shrinks down. And we talk about the cycles of menstruation. We teach them how to track their cycles. We teach how babies are made. We teach hygiene. We teach how to use and care for their kit. We teach self defense, which is a really fun part of the education. It's usually towards the end, and they all stand up and are practicing, and we talk about where they're strong and standing up for themselves. We talk about protecting themselves from sex trafficking. It's a really beautiful curriculum that's really celebratory of women. And throughout talking about how wonderful they are and talking about how without periods, there wouldn't be people, that this is not a bad thing. This is a beautiful part of who you are, that you're part of a global sisterhood of women that are all experiencing this. And this is a healthy part of who you are. And it's a really beautiful and celebratory education. I've had the opportunity to be a part of those education sessions quite a few times over many different parts of the world. And each part of the world has obviously a different culture. Every part of the world does. And along with that, there's different stigma and different shame and different misinformation that is in different countries and cultures, depending on where they're at, including the US. This is not just a low income country issue. A lot of times we'll think that this is a low, middle and high income country issue. And so, yeah, it's really beautiful. You begin education, and you can tell with a group of girls immediately when they learn what the subject matter is, that there's the energy that falls over the room of, oh, we're talking about this. This is shame, this is stigma. This is something that's not a good part of who I am. And then as you go through and you can see those little light bulb moments, I feel like they're sparkly light bulb moments going off. As we talk about the truth of a woman's body and that menstruation is a healthy part of who she is and protecting herself. And then she gets a days for girls kit that is soft and beautiful. And by the end of these education sessions, it's like a girl party. They're celebratory and happy. And it's beautiful also to see that as you talk openly about these things, that all of a sudden, girls who are sisters and classmates and friends, that they can look to the left and right of them and see them nodding and say, like, oh, you're having that happen, too. This wasn't even just me. I have people around me that we can support each other and talk and you have cramps. I have cramps. We can talk and support each other. So, yeah, the education is a really beautiful part of days for girls is creating, working to create a world where periods are no longer a problem. So that doesn't just mean taking care of a girl's needs for three years. That means making sure that she's in a supportive environment for her menstrual health, for her lifetime. And so doing that, education, shifting attitudes and beliefs are a critically important part of what we do.

Melissa: And so great that I'm sure they leave empowered to take care of those experiences. And it's amazing what some knowledge and education and connecting with others can bring to any situation.

Tiffany: Yes, exactly. Great.

Melissa: Well, we always love to hear on this podcast the human interest side of the story. So, do you have any specific stories you could share, either of women and girls that you have served or those that have been involved in serving and in this organization?

Tiffany: Absolutely. And I love that because it's so good to hear those stories and to connect to those experiences. So one of my experiences that I had early on that really grounded me to this cause and made me understand how important this work is. I was able to be a part of a series of kit distributions in Tanzania, and I was working with the local leaders there. Local leadership is a really important part of what we do and honoring that local leadership. And so I was with the local leaders, and we were able to work with a school, and we did an education session and distributed kits in a school to girls. And that went really well. Always does. But the part that was really impactful to me was the next day we were able to meet with the moms of those girls. And so they were getting us working with the community leaders to get things set up. And they had said that they didn't think that very many people were going to be able to come because there was a big event happening at the community adjacent to them. And so they said, probably not very many people are going to be there. But we went, and even though they said not very many people are going to be there, we brought 150 days for girls kits with us, and we're prepared to do the education. And it was supposed to be at the local community church. And so we arrived at the location and we arrived to a huge crowd of women. And we got out, and I was sitting there thinking, oh, my gosh, this is so many people. I wonder how many people this is. And we started the education, and we talked to the community leaders and said, we don't know if we're going to have enough product because this is a lot of women. But we did the education, and it was absolutely a beautiful session. The sessions with girls are different than the sessions with women. They ask different questions because they've had different life experiences. And this group of women was absolutely amazing. And we had great discussions together, and we distributed the days for girls kits afterwards that we had brought. And we had exactly the number to the dot of the number of kits that were needed for. There was 150 women there. So that was really special. But after that, the women surrounded us, and I kind of tried to step off so that they were focused with the local leader, but they surrounded her. And there's this beautiful thing that they do that I'm not going to do justice whatsoever, but they jump up and down and there's like a trilling that they do, like this thing with their so beautiful to watch in action. And they were doing that. And what they said to the leader was, thank you so much for coming. Now we can be proud to be women.

Melissa: Wow.

Tiffany: And that moment made me realize, and just with the questions that they had asked in the discussion and just the whole package together, I realized that this is not necessarily just about products. It's not necessarily about education. It's about dignity for women and that they have what they need. They have the knowledge that they need to know what's going on with their body that they're not bleeding every month and they don't know why. They don't know how to track it. It comes unexpectedly. Then they don't have what they need to take care of it, that they can now have the things and the knowledge and what they need, that they can have dignity to engage in their life every single day of their lives. Women, on average, men, straight for 3000 days in their lifetime, which is eight years. And that is a lot of days of our life to not have what we need if we don't. And so anyway, that was a really special moment for me. That was really special.

Melissa: Yeah, that's a great story, and that's a great phrase. Now we can be proud to be women.

Tiffany: Yeah.

Melissa: And to.

Tiffany: So I also had an experience not long after becoming a part of days for girls. It was kind of a full circle moment for able. I found out about days for girls when I was working with an organization in India and had gone to India multiple times and worked with the same group of students there with the organization that I was with and had gotten to know these girls. And there was a particular group of girls that was 1112 years old. And I had really fallen in love with them. I knew them really well. And I was able to arrange with the school to go back to deliver the days for girls kits and education to all the girls at the school. And so I had been there many times. We got the girls together. They knew who I was. But when they got to the room and they realized what the education was about, just like I was sharing earlier, all of a sudden, this energy just drapes over the room of shame and stigma. And we started education. And it went similar to other education sessions where they're seeing these sparkly light bulb moments going off in their minds as they're learning different things about their own bodies and it's making sense, things are clicking and we're distributing the days for girls kits. And afterwards, I got to sit and just chat for quite a while with this group of about six or 712 year old girls. At this point, they were 13. And they shared with me that just a couple of months before I was there that they had done a maturation class. And I was surprised. I mean, India is very conservative. And they had actually brought the boys and girls together to do the education, which I was shocked educator. What they shared with me, what the girls shared with me, was that it was a very short information, basically. And this is common in India, where the boys sit on one side of the room, and the girls sit on the other side of the room. And so the instructor turned to the boys and shared with them several things that were going to happen to them in puberty. Your voice will deepen, your shoulders will broaden, things like that.

Melissa: Right.

Tiffany: And then they turned to the girls, and all that was said to the girls was, you will have an unfortunate liability.

Melissa: Oh, my goodness.

Tiffany: And that was all that was said. And so I had no idea that that had even happened. But then here, a couple of months later, I was here with a local leader, and we were doing this education, and they talked to me about how different they felt. Now, after having the education and having something that they could confidently count on every month to take care of their period each month, and again, to be proud to be women and that this isn't an unfortunate liability. This is a healthy part of who you are. And literally, if girls didn't have periods, there would not be people on the earth. Right. And so that was a really special.

Melissa: Moment for me and to just totally change the previous experience into one that they can instead look forward and be proud of and empowered. So.

Tiffany: Yeah, exactly. Can I share one more.

Melissa: Yes.

Tiffany: Of a. As I said, there's different shame and stigma in different parts of the world. We do a lot of work in Nepal, and we have an office. One of our offices is in Nepal, led by everyone local. There's nobody foreign in the office. And we really support local leadership at days for girls and are confident that they are the ones that best know how to address things in their own countries. And in Nepal, there is a practice called chapati. And this practice is that women and girls are considered impure when they're on their periods, and that if they are with their families, that they will bring ill health and bad fortune to their families. And so while girls and women are on their periods in India, they are expected to remove themselves from their families, and they have to spend the duration of their periods in menstrual huts and menstrual huts. I've seen a lot of different types of menstrual huts. Sometimes they're kind of like a crawl space underneath the house. Sometimes they're kind of like a cow shed kind of thing. Sometimes they're kind of like little wood structures that are kind of built up off the ground, but it's very small, and it's just this little menstrual hut that girls need to be in for the duration of their period. New moms need to go into the menstrual huts for 21 days. After having a new baby. And so this is one of the big things that our office in Nepal is working to address. And it's one thing to get a product to a girl, but it's a completely different thing to shift deep rooted cultural practices, attitudes and beliefs. And so we have done a lot of work and a beautiful way that they approach the work of going into different communities and first meeting with the community elders and getting buy in from the community elders, and then meeting with the parents and then meeting with the girls and that slowly, perceptions and beliefs are changing and the work we're doing is working. I have actually now seen pictures of girls tearing down their own menstrual huts with their own hands. And it's just really beautiful. And it's all about girls being able to engage with health and dignity in all the days of their lives. That's literally the name of days for girls. Days for girls. The reason for that name is that we're giving girls back their days, that they can fully show up in the world and pursue their dreams and the things that they're passionate about. And what we know is that when girls and women show up, girls and women are lifted, families are lifted, communities lifted, and then whole countries and the globe is lifted, because we need women in the world. We need women to show up with their strength and leadership and perspectives. And it's just a really beautiful thing to watch in action happening.

Melissa: Wow. So impactful. And I also appreciate that you take the time to educate those of us listening to this interview, because many of us aren't aware of some of those cultures and things. And it can be impactful for our experience and help inspire us and know how we want to help as well.

Tiffany: Of course.

Melissa: Yeah. Definitely makes a difference. Well, and I think many will be inspired after hearing those stories. So I would just love to end on any advice or encouragement you have to give for anyone listening that wants to be either involved with days for girls or with similar initiatives in their area for empowering women and girls. What simple advice or encouragement would you give?

Tiffany: Oh, I love that. I would say that the world needs you and that the things that you're passionate about really matter. There's a quote that I love. Follow your heart. It leads the way. And I think that it's really important and significant, the things that show up in our heart that we feel really drawn to, and that if you feel those pollings and those drawings to take action because the world needs you in it, leaning into those things. As far as specific things, we have chapters and teams, as I said, all over the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. You can come to the Days for Girls website and get familiar with. We have a map. You can look and see where we have existing groups that you could get together with and help to sew or to do other things. We are always in need of donations to further the work. So you can read on the website different things and ways that you can do that. If you're wanting to purchase kits made from a social enterprise, you can also see that on the website. Get days for girls kits, and you can actually purchase an order. You don't have to go to the country. You can go to the country, but you don't have to. And they'll usually take pictures and send that back to you. And it's all coordinated. And all of that money just goes directly to our social enterprises and their businesses. Days for girls just coordinates it. And also, the founder of Days for Girls just wrote the story of Days for Girls. She wrote the book, and that's just recently come out. It's called the power of Days. It's written by Celeste Mergens. It's available online wherever you buy books. Barnes and noble, Amazon, wherever. And so if this conversation has sparked some desire and thoughts and excitement in you, I think you would absolutely love the book of days for girls. It's a page turner and goes into all the journey of how days for girls began and also the personal journey of Celeste as she started days for girls. So that's another option. But, yeah, we would love your support. Again, Days for girls is all about the power of we, as many of us rally together and say, this matters, then things happen. It costs us about $10. It kind of depends on the different area of the world that we're talking about, but it costs about $10 for days for girls to reach girls. And so if you're wanting to donate yourself or maybe even get a group of women together and watch a couple of days for girls videos and then donate together. We have sometimes high school students that are involved with different volunteer organizations or college students that decide to organize a fun run or pancake breakfast or different things and talk about days for girls, and the proceeds go to days for girls. There's lots of different things that can be done, but we have a lot of really exciting projects happening, and we need more funding to make them happen. It's really exciting when you have a solution that works, and now we just need to add fuel to the fire to get it.

Melissa: Absolutely. Yeah. Well, that's great. I will include links to all of those in the show notes so people can find those. And Tiffany, this has been such a great conversation. Thank you so much for being willing to come on today and let us learn more about the good things days for girls is doing.

Tiffany: Thank you so much for the opportunity. And, yeah, this has been wonderful. Thank you.

Melissa: That concludes my interview with Tiffany Larson, the CEO of Days for Girls. And she just did a great job of explaining all the many different facets of their organization, all the many different good things they're doing, from the different countries that they're visiting, to the disaster relief that they do, the way that they create these kits for girls to use for their periods and the education that goes along with it. And I was just so inspired as well by those stories that she shared of the impact that they are having on communities and within cultures around the world. And it brought me back to the first time that I heard about days for girls. As I mentioned earlier, many years ago, my women's group at church, we had the opportunity to make some of these kits. And when we were first educated, before we started our service, my mind was blown. This was something that I personally had never thought about what this was like for women and girls in other countries, and the cultural implications and just being able to have access to the products and things that they needed to handle their periods in a healthy and good way. And that experience stayed with me. I heard those stories, and I was so excited to be able to get up and do something about it and to serve in that way. And so that's why I wanted to do this interview and to feature days for girls, because I know many others would experience those same feelings that I did and I loved. At the beginning of this interview, Tiffany even said that the very first time she heard about it, she was impacted the same way and has obviously continued to work with that organization and doing all of those things. So if you were inspired by some of the stories that you heard today, I, again, as I mentioned, will leave links in the show notes to the website and social media pages for days for girls, and you can go and learn more. And as she said, there are so many ways that you can contribute to this organization if you feel so inspired to do. And just as a friendly reminder, if you enjoyed this episode of the podcast, please share it with a friend or go and leave a review on Apple Podcast. Thank you so much for being here. I'll see you next time.