*Thank you to Always for sponsoring this post and for being so passionate about empowering girls. We’re helping raise awareness about a very real problem facing girls today. Go girls—we can do this!

I’m going to get very blunt very fast. The subject matter of this post warrants it and there are thousands of girls out there depending on us to make a big difference for them.

Middle school was rough. As a girl, you not only had to navigate mean kids and perverted comments, but you had to deal with a period on top of the whirlpool of puberty. I remember one day hiding in the bathroom through the last two class periods because my pad had leaked through and I was too mortified to ask for another one.

Periods require girls to deal with a very adult thing at such a young age. Did you know that nearly 1 in 5 American girls have either left school early or missed school entirely because of a lack of access to period products? We usually think this is a problem in other countries but it is happening to so many girls right here in our own backyard.

Lack of access starts a vicious cycle of missing school, getting behind on classwork, and missing out on activities like sports and clubs that help build a girl’s confidence and skills. It’s a very real problem facing girls today.

#EndPeriodPoverty and How We Can Help

We’ve teamed up with Always to help raise awareness about the lack of access to period products that is affecting millions of girls across the nation. Always is so passionate about empowering girls and we completely love them for it. Always knows that girls are the future and that we can’t afford for them to miss out on education and enriching activities.

It’s time to #EndPeriodPoverty and here’s how we can help.

From now until September 8, every Always product you purchase will automatically donate period products to girls in need. Always is also donating an additional 15 million period products to Feeding America, a school pantry organization that provides food, toiletries, and personal care products to kids who are most in need.

Here are three easy ways you can help #EndPeriodPoverty.

1. Join the conversation.

Talk to your friends, spark the conversation on social media, talk to your daughters and to teachers at local middle and high schools to make sure they are aware of the issue. How cool would it be if every girl knew that her teacher had period products on hand in a discreet and convenient place?

2. Purchase Always products.

Any time you buy an Always product from now until September 8, your purchase equals a donation of product to girls in need.

3. Do something at your local level to make a difference.

We recently visited our local Feeding America food bank and dropped off a donation of Always products. Click here to find your local Feeding America center and consider making a donation of feminine products. They could sure use it.

You could also talk to girls in schools or church groups to start the conversation.

For decades, Always has been empowering millions of girls through puberty. It’s an extremely difficult time of life—one I surely don’t wish to revisit. Did you know that at puberty, a girl’s first period often marks the lowest point of confidence during her teenage years?

I believe it. I remember the day I came home from school crying because someone told me my hair was so curly it looked like pubic hair. Every little thing someone said or did was a blow to my confidence. I’m sure you remember similar events.

Now as grown women, we are in a position to help girls trying to survive puberty with their confidence in tow. We can make sure no girl ever has to go through the humility of leaving school or missing school because she can’t get a pad. Let’s rally the troops! Join the conversation, get involved, help make a difference. #EndPeriodPoverty