Volunteers for P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown meet every Wednesday to make reusable menstrual pads and pouches.
Volunteers for the Pan-African Sisterhood Health Initiative (P.A.S.H.I) gather weekly at the Grace Baptist Church of Germantown in Philadelphia to make and donate reusable menstrual pads and carry pouches to adolescent girls and women in need globally.
As a group, P.A.S.H.I aims to educate others about the importance of menstrual hygiene management, reproductive health and life skills. Volunteers work weekly to lessen the plight of young girls who miss school and other activities because they cannot afford menstrual hygiene products.
Inspired by that work, P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown – an affiliate of P.A.S.H.I Global formed at the Monthly Meetinghouse – partnered with P.A.S.H.I in Philadelphia to deliver those products.
“It’s been joyous work; you’re making the world a better place,” said Barbara Kreider, clerk of Moorestown Friends Meeting, who was also responsible for getting P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown established.
Volunteers for P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown meet at the Moorestown Monthly Meetinghouse every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the group started weekly sewing events in mid-June. On a typical Wednesday, four to six people sew together in an assembly line process to produce menstrual pads. The process involves sorting fabric, cutting, sewing, ironing, surging and affixing snaps to each pad.
The pads are then bundled into groups of 10 for delivery to P.A.S.H.I. – Philadelphia. Sewists include Meeting members and people from the community at large. To date, the Moorestown volunteers have produced more than 400 pads and close to 200 pouches. They are mostly quilters who learned about P.A.S.H.I when they attended their annual quilting meeting last summer.
On Fridays, P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown hosts a group of middle-school sewists from Friends School who are enrolled in a once-weekly activity dedicated to repurposing material.
“It’s a trifecta of friends, doing something with your hands and knowing it’s going to directly go to some girl somewhere,” Kreider explained of P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown’s work.
To date, P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown has produced more than 400 pads and close to 200 pouches.
P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown receives donations of material in person and by mail from near and distant sewists. Donated material not suitable for the group’s purposes is given to other groups for their projects. Given its use in production of feminine hygiene products, P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown’s materials are stored in crates and kept carefully covered.
Machines include donated sewing machines as well as ones that the group purchased – a used commercial serger, a customized material cutter and irons. Supplies such as scissors, thread and sewing accessories were purchased with the help of a professional quilter. Donations to P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown have enabled the group to purchase supplies and equipment for startup, as well as install electrical service and a HVAC system for air conditioning that meets their needs.
The group acknowledges the Meetinghouse’s contribution by providing rent-free space and utilities. Given the free labor and rent-free manufacturing space, P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown estimates the cost of production of one pad at $1.11 and one pouch at $1.18.
Pads are made using Zorb fabric – a super absorbent, hypoallergenic fabric engineered to rapidly capture and distribute moisture with a superior holding capacity – and ProSoft PUL, a premium, eco-friendly waterproof fabric.
For each trip to Africa, P.A.S.H.I – Philadelphia takes a minimum of 350 pads, 75 pouches, 150 pairs of underwear and 25 sewing kits.
P.A.S.H.I. Moorestown also hopes to raise funds for window repair, bathroom repair and blinds in their sewing space on the second floor; to host evening hours for open sewing; to raise awareness and donations by publicizing their work locally; to coordinate with Second Baptist Church in Moorestown to host their sewists; and to raise funds to send members interested in traveling on donation trips.
All are welcome to join. No experience is necessary as training will be provided. To donate or for more information, visit www.moorestownfriendsmeeting.org/p-a-s-h-i-moorestown/
