06/19/2025
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Stanwood-Camano Island Days for Girls
We meet the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month.
10 am - 12 pm
Location: SCISS
Stanwood Camano Island Sewing Space
8910 Viking Way
West Side of the Building
Stanwood, WA 98292
PLEASE READ THE WHOLE NEWSLETTER
I realize it's long this time but it gives everyone a chance to know and share the impact we have on our community.
-Charlie
NEXT MEETING IS FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2025
REPEAT OF THE LAST MEETING
10 am-12 pm
__________If you want ....Bring Treats to Share _____________
What are we doing?
This meeting the focus will be: getting the components from Whidbey washed, ironed, QC'ed, and packed for the Utah Distribution Center.
What can you do to help?
We need volunteers that have passed Gold Standard sewing for the liners and shields to check each component using the templates.
If you do not sew please help with the washing of the components. The laundromat is located around the corner of the complex. Detergent and a form of payment (coins or a credit card) will be at SCISS. Donations to the Chapter will be paying for the fees at the laundromat.
After the components are washed they will need to be ironed. There are multiple ironing boards and irons available.
At some point, the components must be counted. We need to give the Distribution Center a heads up on what to expect. And it's important for our Chapter to know how many components are donated.
If you do sew and have passed GS Carry Pouch Class
Esther would like at least 2 volunteers to work on sewing carry pouches at this meeting. We will have 2 machines set up but you may bring your own sewing machine. The carry pouches are made of PUL, so not every machine is suitable for sewing through multiple layers of this fabric.
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We were able to assemble four full-sized quilts from the NFFP (not fit for purpose) liners that were acquired from a local DFG team that has closed their doors.
These quilts will be donated to the Cocoon House in Everett.
https://cocoonhouse.org
The Sewing Class for Shields scheduled for June 28th has been cancelled due to Family obligations. The people who registered for the class have been contacted and we will reschedule.
Reporting on the last grant - Lin
Stanwood-Camano Island Days for Girls
Final Report on SCaF Jones Grant Activities and Impact
June 15, 2025
How the Grant was used:
With the help of the generous $5000* Jones Grant we received in 2024 through SCaF, we served over 900 Snohomish County area people with:
Dbl. Pod kits $25 retail value Menstrual Cups $25 retail value Underwear $3 retail value
436 $10,900 230 $5750 182 $546
Total retail value of supplies provided: $17,196. This averages around $5.56 per person for 5-10 years of FREE menstrual supplies, saving them each thousands of dollars on the purchase of disposables. (*The rest of the funds were provided by private donations.)
Activities: We made distributions to people at or through the following partner locations: Stanwood-Camano Food Bank and Thrift Store, Caring Place, Cocoon House, Community Resource Center (Stanwood), Utsalady Elementary School, Camano Chapel Food Bank, a SCaF Volunteer Event, and Kids Kloset (Arlington). We are proud to work with these partners to help serve our community.
Impact: In addition to the financial impact listed above, we received many positive comments from our partners and their clients about our products. The high school students and older clients familiar with tampon use reported that they preferred the cups to pads or tampons as they were great for sports and overnight usage. They need to be changed less often and never cause Toxic Shock Syndrome as tampons can.
Our washable pods were popular for their comfortable soft liners, ease of washing and much lower impact on our environment than disposables. And clients always comment on how beautiful the supplies created by our 30+ volunteers are!
Clients report feeling empowered by having reliable protection that frees them from concern over paying for disposables and always having supplies ready for use, especially in “surprise” conditions.
Our partners all report being very satisfied with their ability to provide help to their clients, not just for one or two days of a menstrual cycle with a few free disposables, but for ongoing support for these needs. This support allows our clients to attend school, work and social functions regularly and without fear of embarrassment.
We are very grateful to SCaF and their sponsors for this opportunity to satisfy such a basic need, yet one that is frequently overlooked.
Support Photos provided: 01 _At Caring Place with Director Mardi J and Lin; 02_Cheryl A and PE coach at Twin City Elementary School Back-to-School night; 03_bathroom display at Community Resource Center; 04_new display at S-C Food Bank.
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Thanks to our team, too.
Here is part of a message I got from Skagit Community Foundation, whose grant we did NOT apply for this year: "We were happy to hear that Days for Girls was at a good place with their funding this year and did not need additional support from the grant cycle. I so appreciated your honesty and transparency in regards to this and not applying for funding anyways. We have some organizations that will apply regardless of need, and since this year the need was so great for many of our local nonprofit partners with the loss of federal and state funding, I appreciated your awareness and thoughtfulness."
And from Celeste:
And… a woman who has fallen on hard time just FB messaged me today with this message:
“I came to see about getting some tampons and I got given this it made me smile”. A local Chapter provided menstrual cups at a resource she went to. So grateful.
This is our impact on one life.
Gratitude
Thank you all for all you do.
-Charlie
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Mission The mission of Cocoon House is to partner with young people, families, and the community to break the cycle of homelessness through outreach, housing, prevention, education, and employment. This mission supports the belief that every young person deserves a home and the opportunity to achiev...
