13 Oct Have Vangina, Will Travel

By Dana Marlowe

Little did Amazon Prime know that when they gifted I Support the Girls a van, we would turn it into a Vangina (above).

Yes, you read that right. What else would a nonprofit that provides bras, pads and tampons name their van?

Not only does our new #Vangina transport five times as many donations as my minivan, but it also functions as a moving billboard, raising awareness about I Support the Girls wherever it goes.

But now that we had a hot-pink van with a life-size tampon, we thought there must be other ways we could use it to advance our mission….

A road trip, of course! This fall, we embarked on a multistate “Vangina Tour.” Our goal is to donate half a million bras, new underwear, pads, tampons and toiletries to organizations in 22 affiliate cities across the Midwest and Northeast. These organizations include domestic violence shelters, food pantries, foster care agencies, re-entry programs, refugee agencies and more.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 prevented us from holding an affiliate retreat in 2020, so we hadn’t met with our Affiliate Directors since November 2019. The Vangina Tour is a way for us to safely spend in-person time with our affiliate directors while also meeting the desperate need for donations and raising awareness in their cities.

The tour is part of our larger, ongoing effort to help women and folx during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March of 2020, we have seen a 35 percent increase in product requests and have so far collected and distributed more than 6 million items to individuals and organizations across the country.

Periods don’t stop for pandemics, and ISTG has risen to the moment through the hard work of our staff and affiliates on the ground.

The first leg of the tour ran September 16-24 throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan and was jam-packed with activities: bra-fittings in Pittsburgh, Bucky the Buckeye sightings in Columbus, 85,000-plus products donated in the pouring rain in Michigan–and more!

We already knew our affiliate directors were amazing, but getting to see them in action in their hometowns and witnessing the relationships they have built with their partner organizations blew us away.

The underwear that Kathy Jackson, our affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, donates helps get human trafficking victims off the streets. Judy Masucci, our Pittsburgh affiliate director, brings homeless women confidence and dignity through a properly fitted, new bra. In Indianapolis, ISTG donated 51,508 products to Afghan refugees.

As the COVID-19 pandemic—along with other political and natural events—continues to cause personal and economic upheaval both in the U.S. and abroad, we remain committed to lifting women and folx out of period poverty during times when it’s most needed. The Vangina Tour is just another way we can restore a sense of dignity and security to the most vulnerable across our country.

Catch the #Vangina on the second leg of the tour in late October and early November. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to meet up with us in the following cities:

• Washington, D.C.
• Bear, DE
• Newark, DE
• Pennington, NJ
• Springfield, NJ
• New York City, NY

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Dana Marlowe (She / Her / Hers) is the founder and executive director of I Support the Girls, which works to empower women experiencing homelessness, impoverishment or distress to stand tall with dignity. Since its founding, ISTG has collected and donated more than 16 million items.