2023 Looking Back – Looking Forward
Happy New Year!
As I reflect on 2023, I am excited about the development and growth that Georgia STOMP has undergone. The team we have assembled is committed to this work. We are diverse in perspective and in the gifts we bring to the mission. For those who have been a part of this effort since its inception in 2017, you know we began as a small grassroots movement in Macon, quickly spreading to Savannah and then statewide. Not until 2021 did we formalize the coalition, seat a board and plan for a future beyond Georgia STOMP’s initial leaders. After two years of intense formational work, the future looks promising because of the team we now have in place!
Looking back at the past few years, nothing we have done has impacted the lives of menstruators as greatly as the funding in the state budget distributed via the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and the Georgia Department of Public Health (GaDPH). With the help of both Republican and Democrat leadership at the Capitol, Georgia STOMP did that! Georgia was the first state in the nation to put a line item in the state budget for period product provision. Students in Georgia’s public schools have access to period products in ways that most states have not yet realized!
Georgia STOMP works very closely with GaDOE leadership to construct the list of approved items that can be purchased with state monies, suggest best practices for distribution and train school nurses. Specifically in 2023, working closely with GaDOE and a team of researchers from Emory University led by Dr. April Ballard (PhD, MPH) and Alison Hoover (MPH), we spearheaded a project to ascertain the advisability of allowing the state “feminine hygiene grant” money to be used to install free dispensers in school bathrooms to facilitate student access. Input was received from school nurses and facility managers. The research resulted in GaDOE adding dispensers to the approved list of items that school districts can use their state allocation to purchase. Partnering with Georgia Association of School Nurses (GASN) and Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA), Georgia STOMP has been present at every major gathering of school nurses in Georgia this year. These face-to-face gatherings provide opportunities to both train nurses and receive feedback from them. This mutual education makes usage of the state funds more efficient and readies us for advocacy under the Gold Dome.
Organizationally, with a full working board seated and trained, we were able to turn our attention to committee development, thereby giving more member organization leadership a voice in the direction of the coalition’s work. Currently, committees include Communications, Legislative and Finance. If you or someone from your organization is interested in joining a committee, reply to this email and we will include you in the list for 2024-2025.
As we move into 2024, an unfinished task before us takes us back to where we began – elimination of the discriminatory sales tax! Since the inception of Georgia STOMP, the number of states that have removed the tax has more than doubled. Georgia is now one of only 21 states to assess a sales tax on products about which we have no choice, are a medical necessity and are required for good health. As 2024 begins, YOUR voice is needed in this work! MUCH too often we hear from legislators that no one in their district has contacted them about the need to eliminate the tax.
Have you called, emailed, or otherwise spoken toyour STATE Representative and STATE Senator?
Have you let your friends and relatives in various parts of the state know to do the same?
Easy Take Action links are on this website. Use them and share them with others. We provide suggested language, but he emails are also easily edited, making it possible to personalize them quickly.
As I conclude, I want to remind you that 2024 is Membership Renewal Year. Georgia STOMP has a two-year cycle for memberships and EVERY organization’s is due to renew in January. Watch your inbox for an email with links from Membership Chair, Madison Shelnutt. Reply to it immediately to make sure your organization stays connected. It will only take a moment!
Thank you for being a part of this work. Please feel free to reach out with questions or suggestions at any time! We want to hear from you. We want to work with you to make Georgia the best state for menstruators!
Claire Cox, Chair Georgia STOMP, Inc.
