DALLAS, Pa. — Area high school students donated 19,000 hygiene products to a special group of women at Misericordia University.
The donations were made possible by a group of sophomores at Wyoming Seminary. The high school students organized "Her Drive Luzerne County."
The donation drive is an off-shoot of the national "Her Drive," a non-profit dedicated to providing hygiene products to those with limited access to those essentials.
Students dropped off thousands of items at Misericordia University for college students enrolled in the Ruth Matthews Bourger Women with Children Program.
The program provides free housing and social service support to single moms and their children while the moms work to earn their bachelor's degree.
"A lot of people don't have access to safe hygiene projects and safe period products. So, one of the goals of this is to fight against period poverty," said organizer Lauren Finaly.
"This is a tremendous moment. We're just so incredibly grateful and proud to see such initiative from young women who are doing what they can not, only to make a positive impact on the women that we serve but also to be role models for their own peers in this community. So we're just really moved by this entire effort with the Her Drive," said Katherine Pohlidal, director of the Women with Children program.
Officials say the program at Misericordia is set to expand this fall and will have the capacity to help 20 single moms further their education in Luzerne County.