Feel like shopping?

I see that Walmart again has 12-packs of Fruit of the Loom girls' underpants on sale for $5.96, which is 50 cents a pair.    Briefs or hipsters are the best styles (no bikinis or boys' shorts), the more colorful, the better!  Our current needs are sizes 10-16.  

Fruit of the Loom Girls' 9+ 3 Free Brief

Soft, 100% Cotton Super soft colorful waistband Tag Free Comfort Satisfaction Guarantee

Online

$5.96

Was $6.48

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Free shipping available on orders over $50

Walmart also has boxes of 30 Ziploc gallon freezer bags for $4.48.  That's a sweet 15 cents each.  Don't get the slider style zipper--they break too easily--and they cost more.

Ziploc Fresh Shield 1 Gallon Double Zipper Heavy Duty Freezer Bags, 30 ct

(13)

Online

$4.46

•

Free shipping available on orders over $50

Target has an even better deal on Ziplocs--60 for  $7.59 (under 14 cents each)

Walmart, Fred Meyer, Target, Ross, Shopko, TJ Maxx, etc. also sell packs or bundles of washcloths which are often on sale.  I find it's helpful to check those out in person, to get a sense of quality, as some are very thin and wouldn't last long.  Stain-hiding colors are best.

Freddy's ad has 4-packs of washcloths for $2 through Saturday.

 4-Pack Washcloths

$2

Valid 8/24/14 - 8/30/14

Target's ad shows 8-packs on sale for $2.79

Room Essentials® 8pk Washclothsquick info.

sale price$2.79

 store price

SALE

reg: original price$3.49

Room Essentials® 8pk WashclothsRoom Essentials™

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Shopko has 9-packs marked down to $5.99

NorthCrest 9-Pack Washcloth Bundle

Sale $5.99   Reg. $9.99

Of course, finding a store coupon online or in the paper can reduce your cost even more.  

Please let me know if you find any of these items at great prices, and I'll share the info here.

Our First Kit-Assembly Day

Yesterday we assembled our first batch of kits--These are going to Kenya in a few days with Gwen Meyer of Friends of Kenya Schools and Wildlife.  

100 completed kits for Kenyan girls plus 2 postpartum kits (on top)

Our assembly line worked well, and we were done in about an hour and a half.  Then we got started on the next batch--cutting, sewing, serging.   Some of us were able to celebrate this milestone event with dinner at Planktown afterwards!

Heartfelt thanks to the assembly crew--Donna, Sheila, Susan, Michelle, Mary Jo, Sherry and Gwen.  And to all the others who donated fabric, Ziplocs, washcloths, undies, money, and your time to make the bags, liners and shields.  All of this effort will make a positive change in the lives of the girls who receive them!

And we'll be sending more to Kenya with Gwen in January.  Please join us at Our Sewing Room on Sunday, September 21, 10 am to 4 pm, for another Days for Girls work day.  Email Susan if you'd like more information about helping:  dfgeugene@gmail.com.

Every Girl.  Everywhere.  Period.

WE WON!

The OPERATION GIRL Challenge

Thanks to all who contributed to Days for Girls in the Operation Girl Challenge on CrowdRise.  We did very well--winning two of the weekly challenges (most money raised one week and most individual donations made this past week) and coming in first overall!  That's a grand total of $59,000 in prize money, which is in addition to over $85,000 raised in donations.  Wow!

Our local team had donations of $570, which will go towards our expenses, which include purchasing twill tape, PUL, flannel, snaps, etc.

Thank you so much, donors!  

A great work day

OUR WORK DAY

We had another wonderful and productive workday at Our Sewing Room today.  A big thank you to those who helped today and at home:  Sheila, Maryanne, Sandra, Michelle, Donna, Pat, Linda, Susan, Sherry, Kathy, Jenny, Mary Kay, and Mary Jo and Don, our hosts.  We are very close to having all we need for 105 kits going to Kenya at the end of the month.  The group of us all had fun and worked hard, and of course in all the busyness, I forgot to take pictures.  

Another big thank you goes to the many people who donate fabric and pick up packages of washcloths, girls' underpants and Ziploc freezer bags to go in the kits.  And to those who give us the little bars of soap picked up in their travels.   It's all coming together beautifully to improve the lives of these young ladies in Kenya!  We will be assembling their kits on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 26th.

An even lower price on undies!

I just received this alert:  

From Sunday, August 10th to Saturday, August 16th: At Target, buy three Fruit of the Loom bonus pack girls' panties (12 per pack) and get $5 off. Three packs at $6.00 each minus $5 coupon (in Sunday's paper) is $13 for 36 pairs! That's 36¢ each. Fantastic deal--best price I've seen yet!

This must be the time to stock up.  

We need sizes 10-16 (more of the 14s and 16s, plus a few women's).  Any style other than bikini--I try to get briefs.  The more colorful, the better.

Unlike

Namibia and Springfield

Another article shining a spotlight on the tremendous need for appropriate, sustainable feminine hygiene products for girls and women in developing nations.

Namibia:    http://www.newera.com.na/2014/07/10/menstruation-forces-girls-out-of-school/

If you're up for a fun and productive day, join us Sunday, August 17, for a work day at Our Sewing Room, 10 am to 4 pm.  We should be able to finish all the components for our Kenya request.  There will be sewing jobs as well as others that don't involve a machine.  We need you!

Zimbabwe

Here's an article that's worth reading:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miriam-mufaro/menstrual-hygiene-must-be_b_5652340.html

I can't imagine what it must be like for women living there.

The article doesn't list Days for Girls, but DFG is looking at alternate ways for cleaning our shields and liners in a drought situation, with Zimbabwe in mind.  Apparently, some would use them once, and then discard them for lack of water with which to wash.  

We do distribute to Zimbabwe.

Rollback

Price alert!  I see that Walmart has a price rollback on Fruit of the Loom panties for girls--12 packs for $5.96.  That's a hair under 50¢ each!  Best deal I've seen.  Hanes are also good, although a few cents more per pair.

We need girls sizes 10-16, with an emphasis on 14 & 16.  No bikini style.  I look for the "briefs."

And colorful is best--I try to find the packages with the least white in the fabrics.

A fundraiser to help with expenses

Days for Girls International is participating in an online fundraising challenge, with matching funds and bonus money!

The local teams and chapters set up a donations page.  Ours is https://www.crowdrise.com/daysforgirls-operationgirl/fundraiser/susanmondon.  All the donations made at that link go to our local Days for Girls team to defray some of the costs of what goes in the kits!  There's some big money ($50,000) for the nonprofit that raises the most money, and all of our local donations can help the international organization win that spot--we are currently in 3rd place.

It would be great if you could help!  The competition ends August 18, so there isn't much time.  Thanks so much for considering.

These bags and shields will be part of the kits we are assembling to send to Kenya later this month.