Helping Our Neighbors In Need
Community Outreach Feminine Hygiene Product Drive
Packaging the Donations into Monthly Kits
Monday, April 28, 2025
The team that packaged the donations:
Pam Lande, Jan Parkman, Carol Byrne, Sue Greimel, Molly Bonin, Barbara Waldschmidt, Kathy Lafayette, Elizabeth Johnston, and Jan Quist (not pictured). The women in orange tees are from Mobile Loaves.
Feminine Hygiene Product Drive Results!
The Community Outreach Committee wants to send a huge thank you to all of you who donated products and money during this drive in partnership with the Mobile Loaves organization. Thanks also to all of you who came Monday morning and helped us package the products into individual bags to be handed out to women who need them.
We collected a total of 6,225 pads and pantiliners, 3,430 tampons and we packaged 380 kits! We also collected $655 in cash and checks, most of which went to purchase additional products included in the above count. Mobile Loaves sent me this message: “The members of AAUW ROCKED IT!” Yes, we did!
Mobile Loaves also sent this Thank You to those who packed the kits, and this Thank You to our Branch.
~Jan Parkman, VP Fundraising
Watch this YouTube video to learn more about Mobile Loaves Twin Cities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inSg-_evSkY
Find out even more about Mobile Loaves Twin Cities on their website: https://www.mobileloavestc.org/
COMMUNITY OUTREACH GOALS
AAUW St. Paul members generously contribute their time, money, and materials to support Community Outreach projects, especially those that impact women and education. The purpose of our outreach is three-fold:
1. Help our neighbors in need
2. Develop partnerships with charitable organizations in the Twin Cities
3. Build public awareness of AAUW St. Paul
If you have any suggestions for future outreach projects, please let us know. We’d love to consider other St Paul organizations empowering and supporting women and supporting education!
Committee members: Chair, Jan Parkman, Sue Greimel, Pam Lande, Kathy Lafayette, Mari Wittenbreer
Community Outreach 2024-2025
- School Supply and Toiletries Drive for Project Reach, a program in the St. Paul Public Schools for homeless students. We will be collecting items and cash donations during the month of September.
- Drive to collect Gift Cards ($25) to support women of Women’s Advocates and Emma Norton Services in November and December.
- Drive to collect Feminine Hygiene products for the many women who find it difficult to afford these basic essential items and receive them through Mobile Loaves Twin Cities in March and April.
Women’s Advocates
Women’s Advocates was the first shelter in the nation established for victim-survivors of domestic violence. They offer a secure place for women and their children where they can trust that they will be safe 24/7 from physical harm and emotional trauma.
Services provided by Women’s Advocates:
Violence Prevention & Education
Shelter & Healing: secure shelter and access to basic needs for up to 50 victim-survivors daily.
Safety After Shelter: Women and children leaving our shelter have access to advocacy and ongoing support for a year after departure.
Find out more on the Women’s Advocates website: https://www.wadvocates.org/
Emma Norton Services
Emma Norton is a trauma-informed organization that promotes healing and recovery, operating at a scale that brings a full array of resources to women, individuals, and families who have experienced homelessness. Housing and services are exemplary, offered in collaboration with key community partners.
Mission: Provide transformational housing and growth for women and families on their journey of recovery
Values: Community, accountability, perseverance, innovation, and protecting and valuing the whole human spirit
Goals are to: Provide safe, secure, affordable housing for women, individuals, and families in transition, as well as support, advocacy and referrals to community services for individuals and families to stabilize their lives, build confidence and enable self-sufficiency.
Find out more on the Emma Norton Services website: https://emmanorton.org/
Community Outreach 2023-2024
The Community Outreach Committee selected 2 organizations to support during the 2023-2024 program year; the Jeremiah Program and Dress for Success.
Dress for Success
Any AAUW St. Paul members that have clothing, accessories or electronics to donate please go to the Dress for Success Twin Cities website to get current information on their needs and where to drop off your items.
Thank you for your contributions.
Ongoing Outreach opportunity:
Jeremiah Program
There are still ways you can help us support the moms and their children who are participating in the Jeremiah Program throughout the year:
1) Welcome Basket Items: Jeremiah gives out “Welcome Baskets” to new families entering their program. This is a year round need. The Welcome Basket list of needed items is below. A link is provided HERE where you can order and pay directly at Amazon and have the items delivered to the Jeremiah Program.
2) Community Dinners: Jeremiah welcomes help in providing Community-building dinners for their JP moms and their children. These are scheduled usually twice a month on Wednesdays from 5pm – 6:30pm Community hosts usually bring food prepared and ready to go for approximately 25-30 people To learn available dates and to schedule, please contact Mai Moua (mmoua@jeremiahprogram.org).
If you have questions, contact the Community Outreach Committee. Thank you for your generosity!
MORE ABOUT THE JEREMIAH PROGRAM
The Jeremiah Program’s missions and goals align closely to those of AAUW: supporting the education and empowerment of women. The Jeremiah Program has one of the nation’s most successful strategies for disrupting poverty, serving two generations at a time by providing:
• College access and career support
• Quality early childhood education
• Safe and affordable housing (paying no more than 30 percent of their income for rent)
• Empowerment, leadership, and career training
• Supportive community
“The Jeremiah Program supports 100% women, 100% single moms experiencing poverty, and 100% parents in pursuit of a college degree with 80% of those parents identifying as Black, Latinx and Indigenous. Higher education is not the solution for inequity in our country, but it remains the greatest lever of economic mobility.”
–Jeremiah Program website
Additional Outreach Opportunities
Additional Outreach Opportunities will be posted to this page as they come up, so check back often.
AAUW members will also receive occasional emails with updates, and can find detailed reports of our Outreach activities in the 990 News.
Updated: 3/14/25