Hello Summer Period is an Upper Keys community-based program recognizing the need and supplying products to girls who rely on their schools for feminine hygiene needs. Nearly 100 girls rely on school period supplies and summer break can be a challenge.
Concern for the financial burden of purchasing products and health issues if products are not used properly to save money were considerations at the start of this project.
A group of friends at lunch, self-named D.A.Women’s Network to honor a dear friend, came up with the idea when they were alerted to the problem of the upcoming 2025 summer break. Now in its second year, the community effort was enthusiastically supported. Tote bags filled with appropriate supplies were delivered to two middle schools and the high school. The donation response was so robust, supplies were also donated to two Upper Keys food banks.
At the food bank at Burton Memorial, volunteer Ari Poholek said, “We had them put out on Thursday evening and it appeared that most were taken, so obviously they were needed. It’s great that the group was able to organize this effort to help young ladies at the schools and in the community at large.”
In addition to private donations, organizations in the Upper Keys rallied behind the project: Key Largo and Upper Keys Rotary Clubs, Florida Keys Electric Cooperative, Upper Keys Business & Professional Women, Upper Keys League of Women Voters and the Key Largo and Islamorada Chambers of Commerce.
