Join us for Tax Free Georgia Press Conference!
Join your voice with state leaders asking for Georgia to join the other
29 states that have no sales tax on period products!
January 18th 9:00 am
South Wing Steps on 2nd Floor inside Capitol
Join your voice with state leaders asking for Georgia to join the other
29 states that have no sales tax on period products!
January 18th 9:00 am
South Wing Steps on 2nd Floor inside Capitol
Georgia STOMP hosted our annual Fall Membership Summit on Nov 1. We were excited to see so many coalition leaders in person and virtually. We are grateful to Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies who graciously provided their space and technology for the meeting.
Those in attendance enjoyed hearing spotlights from member organizations Georgia Association of School Nurses, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, S.H.E. for Women at Georgia Tech and one of our newest members A Princess and a Pad. Georgia STOMP’s Board was introduced and Membership Chair Madison Shelnutt introduced herself to the group, talked about her plans for her term and reminded attendees that 2024 is membership renewal year.
The 2024 Legislative Priorities proposed by Georgia STOMP’s newly formed Legislative Committee were presented with background as to how they were drafted. Input from coalition members received at the Summit will be incorporated when the Board adopts the final version of the 2024 Legislative Priorities. Following adoption by the Board, the Legislative Committee will develop talking points and with the assistance of the Communication Committee publish graphics and our yearly Guide to the Issues.
We look forward to connecting with the coalition each fall to hear successes, share challenges and together strategize for the upcoming legislative session. This year was no different! Together we will make it a productive legislative season!
Georgia STOMP hosted an empowering celebration of Period Action Day on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Founded in 2019 by PERIOD.The Menstrual Movement, this global day of advocacy highlights the monumental strides of the menstrual equity movement. The porch of Urban Pie Atlanta was standing room only as those gathered discussed progress made across the country and work done in Georgia. The celebration highlighted Georgia’s leadership as the the first state in the nation to put money in its state budget for the purpose of buying period products in schools and at local county health departments, but also focused on Georgia’s lack of movement to eliminate the state sales tax on period products, something 29 other states have done.
This event brought together state legislators, school nurses, and prominent leaders working at the forefront of menstrual equity in Georgia. House sales tax elimination bill (HB123) sponsors, Rep. Debbie Buckner, Rep. Kim Schofield and Rep. Rhonda Burnough brought greetings. Senate tax elimination bill (SB51) sponsor Sen. Nabilah Islam and bill champion, Sen. Nan Orrock, also challenged the crowd to get involved. Rep. Buckner stated “this is an unfair tax on a necessity. Period products are federally designated medical devices and such medical devices are already tax exempt in the Georgia Code. Period products should be as well.”
Lynne Meadows, Director of District Health Services for Fulton County Schools and Georgia’s first National Association of School Nurses’ Fellow, spoke as a nurse on the frontline of period product provision in schools. “Having products has been incredibly helpful and addresses a critical need. Students do not have to worry about or be embarrassed to ask for products, and school nurses do not have to struggle to find funding to purchase products.”
A “packing party” to assemble individual kits of period supplies was hosted and more than 360 kits were created in less than an hour. Supplies for the kits were collected from donations by Georgia STOMP members, the business community (including OI Organic Initiative), and the Women’s Caucus of the Georgia Legislature. Employees from Tyler Perry Studios (TPS) collected over 10,000 items. TPS was represented on Saturday by Jessica Hardaway, Director of Communications and Engagement. The period kits will be distributed statewide by Georgia STOMP member organizations. These include Helping Mamas and Atlanta GLOW in the Atlanta area, Period Project at UGA in Athens,and Macon Periods Easier serving middle Georgia.
The 2023 Period Action Day Event connected, energized and equipped Georgia STOMP advocates to be even more effective in 2024!
On Tuesday, February 7, Georgia STOMP returned to Atlanta for our first “in person” Day at the Capitol since before the pandemic.
More than 20 Georgia STOMP members and partners showed up for Georgia STOMP Day at the Capitol and were joined by numerous legislators who dropped by to voice their support for either our sales tax elimination work and/or funding in the state budget to address period poverty.
After hearing from legislators, attendees learned the status of this year’s tax bills (SB51 and HB123) and then headed to “the ropes” to talk to Senators and to Representative’s offices. (The House has greatly curtailed the ability to talk to Representative’s at the ropes.)
Georgia STOMP’s Message:
These are separate but equally important pillars in our work!
For the second year, Georgia STOMP participated in the East Point College Park Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.’s “All White” Party – A Virtual Event to End Period Poverty. Hosted by the chapter’s Social Action and Physical and Mental Health Committees, this event brought together members of Albany, Augusta, Douglas-Carroll-Paulding, Savannah and Waycross alumnae chapters.
Georgia STOMP was pleased to host a Candid Conversation as part of the event with 240 women from across the state engaging in an honest conversation about their menstruating experiences across their lifespans.
Participants were invited to donate to Georgia STOMP member organizations located near the various chapters. Click each name to view the organization’s donation link.
Communities in Schools of Glynn County
“It was a pleasure to collaborate once again with the East Point/College Park alumnae chapter to host a second year of Candid Conversation,” said cohost and Georgia STOMP Membership Chair Dominique Holloman. “It was exciting to have a statewide conversation with five alumnae chapters supporting the event and over 240 women attending. We are proud to increase advocacy for period poverty and menstrual equity in such an inviting way.”
Candid Conversations are one of the tools Georgia STOMP uses to encourage menstruators to speak with each other about their lived experiences with menstruation in a safe, lighthearted setting. The Candid Conversation model was developed by Dominique and Dr. Heather Scott for the Junior League of Douglas County while Dominique was President of that organization. Georgia STOMP Vice Chair Adele Stewart was a presenter in the inaugural Junior League Candid Conversation and the three of them together realized this was a great model for Georgia STOMP to use as the centerpiece of its education focus.
On Thursday November 17th, Georgia STOMP was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA)’s 2022 School Health Leadership Conference. Lead School Nurses from throughout Georgia come together at this yearly training event to learn from one another and from academic and medical professionals. This year’s theme was “Reflect, Reset and Refresh.” Gwinnett County Environmental and Heritage Center, where the conference convened, was the perfect spot to facilitate a day-long learning experience with a retreat atmosphere.
The day may have been a time for school nurses to reset, but it certainly was not a day off from work. The conference was jam packed with speakers and information. Speakers included many of Georgia STOMP’s partners, including the Georgia Association of School Nurses, the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Education (DOE) and CHOA itself.
Claire Cox, Georgia STOMP Chair, brought an update on state funding for period products. Topics included the amount of funding, how it is allotted to each school district and school, various models for purchasing period products with state funds, what items can be purchased (and what are not allowed), and finally, best practices for product distribution to students – The Three Questions Method.
It was both rewarding and informative to finally be able to talk to nurses face-to-face and hear first-hand how the money is helping students be present in school and attentive to their studies. It was also helpful to understand distribution issues faced by school nurses and how they have been addressed in different school settings.
Claire was joined by Rachel Dornfest, a master’s student at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health. Rachel is assisting Georgia STOMP in a research project conducted in cooperation with The Dignity Pack Project and the Department of Education. Rachel was able to talk to numerous attendees and ask her research questions.
Georgia STOMP looks forward to two additional opportunities to interact with school nurses in 2023. We will be co-hosting a webinar with CHOA for school nurses in January and speaking to the annual Georgia Association of School Nurse meeting in June.
Wednesday was a GREAT day as Georgia STOMP member organization leaders came together for the Coalition’s annual Fall Summit! Hugs were exchanged at seeing each other in person for the first time in many years! Virtual attendees unable to travel to Atlanta were also able to fully participate.
We are grateful to the Junior League of Atlanta who hosted the gathering providing all the IT equipment required for the endeavor.
Member Spotlight presentations were given by charter organizations Georgia Women (And Those Who Stand With Us) and the Junior Leagues of Georgia State Political Action Committee (SPAC), along with coastal Georgia member organization Over the Moon.
Dominique Holloman, Georgia STOMP Membership Chair, reminded us that Membership Agreements are on a two year cycle (so new ones are not needed this year!), but that dues are requested per annum. A reminder will be emailed to all members at the end of the year. Dominique also noted that even though new Membership Agreements aren’t needed, leadership in many organizations will, or has, changed and it is important to keep Georgia STOMP updated with good contact information for your leadership.
The majority of Wednesday’s meeting was a review of the 2023 Legislative Priorities proposed. by the Georgia STOMP Board. Discussion was informative and helpful with great questions from those in attendance, both in person and virtually. The Georgia STOMP Board will take all input received at the Summit and finalize priorities at its November Board meeting. Following that process, Coalition Priorities, a “Guide to the Issues,” and talking points will be relayed to Member leaders for broad distribution.
The last section of the meeting focused on Advocacy Tools Georgia STOMP has, and will, develop. We are very happy to unveil our new website plug in purchased with grant monies received from Georgia Power. Please take some time to discover what is available on our Take Action page! As the legislative session gets underway, this tool will become much more robust as we add action links for emails, tweets and phone calls to key elected officials.
Additionally, Georgia STOMP can share the same “plug in computer code” with Member organizations for your website. If you choose to do this, the same content will be available for your membership or stakeholders. The usage of that coding will allow for “real time” updates as new scripts are published or calls to action initiated.
All in all, the Fall Summit was a successful return to ‘in person” meetings, but with the added benefit of virtually enabling Members from throughout the state to fully participate!
Georgia STOMP celebrated Period Poverty Awareness Week 2022 by recognizing its member organizations who are working together to alleviate period poverty in Georgia!
Period Poverty Awareness week was established by the Alliance for Period Supplies during the week surrounding Menstrual Hygiene Day. Menstrual Hygiene Day was established by Wash United in 2013 and observed for the first time in 2014. It occurs on May 28th each year. It is at the center of the global effort to break the stigma of menstruation, raise awareness about the need for period products to be more accessible, and to advocate for policy and funding to make these goals a reality.
According to their website, The Alliance for Period Supplies created Period Poverty Awareness Week to expand on that mission and “draw attention to the issue of period poverty and the negative impact it has on people who menstruate.”
Georgia STOMP works on these issues every day in Georgia and via a growing coalition of organizations that coordinate our efforts and voice to make these goals a reality.
One of many ways that Georgia STOMP is connected to efforts across the nation to bring Menstrual Equity, is through a coalition of advocates created in 2022 called Mujeres and Menstruators United (MAMU).
MAMU’s purpose is to convene menstrual activists from across the country to strengthen the movement to end period poverty. The goal of MAMU is to pass policy on the local, state & federal level so menstrual products are as universal as toilet paper. At bimonthly coalition meetings, the national group shares resources from activists on the ground working to pass period policy and works collectively to pass the Menstrual Equity for All Act, recently reintroduced by Congresswoman Meng (D-NY)
On March 28th, MAMU hosted its first national panel on period policy.
Adele Stewart, Co-chair of Georgia STOMP, participated in that panel to relate progress made in Georgia and the work of Georgia STOMP.
Panelists l Panelistas:
Adele Stewart, Georgia STOMP (Georgia)
Noelle Spencer, University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)
Lysne Tait, Helping Women Period (Michigan)
Samantha Glover, Red Equity (Nevada)
This panel was moderated by Eiko La Boria from the Flow Initiative in New Jersey and Sasha Goodfriend from the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization for Women (Mass NOW).
The panel addressed questions about period poverty research, policy goals, and the impact of free period products in communities.
To watch the video, go to https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C-l9ysIwgWsQ2-Rm6SHlt-PE05m7oC7n/view?usp=sharing
Tuesday, February 8th was Georgia STOMP’s 2022 Day at the Capitol. The event was jointly hosted with member organization, IGNITE National. The successful partnership resulted in many new faces to Georgia STOMP. Georgia STOMP’s 2022 Legislative priorities were reviewed and opportunities for conversations with legislators were provided. IGNITE resources enabled direct advocacy to legislators despite virtual attendance and not “in person” opportunities under the Gold Dome.
The event opened with remarks from Christina Williams, IGNITE’s Atlanta Fellow and Claire Cox, Chair of Georgia STOMP. IGNITE Southeast Region Program Manager Loren Walter led a fireside chat with La Lune founder Stella Kwon to hear the voice of young women advocating in Georgia. Chairman Ron Stephens (D-196, Savannah), a signer of all three bills to eliminate the state sales tax on menstrual products in Georgia, brought greetings an an update from the Capitol.
Georgia STOMP Membership Chair, Dominique Holloman, facilitated a lively panel discussion with Representatives Kim Schofield (D-60, Atlanta) and Debbie Buckner (D-137, Junction City), both champions of menstrual equity work in Georgia. During the event, Ashlie James, founder of Atlanta GLOW, read HR 751 declaring February 8, 2022 as “Georgia STOMP Day at the Capitol” and reported that every legislator in the House of Representatives received a pamphlet with information about Georgia STOMP.