Leeds Union set up a ‘sanitree’ for people to donate sanitary products for the homeless

Leeds University Union are asking students to help the homeless by donating sanitary products.

Equality and Diversity Office Emma Healey and Welfare Office Jess Reed will be holding stalls where students can donate wrapped sanitary products outside Essentials the Union’s supermarket.  

The donations will be given to shelters and foodbanks across Leeds to help those who are homeless, including St Aidan’s homeless charity, Leeds South Foodbank and Leeds East Foodbank.

Those who donate will receive a raffle ticket and will be in with the chance of winning a luxury hamper full of donated items from local businesses, such as wine and chocolate.

Equality and Diversity Officer, Emma Healey, said: “Sanitary products are a necessity which everyone should have equal access to. Those who are homeless should not be faced with the difficult decision of whether to have food or sanitary products.

“We will continue to support campaigns which may lead to alleviating this issue, and we hope to see more donations such as this take place in the city.”

There will also be a petition against Tampon Tax at the stall which will be in the Union on 1 December and 5 December.

This leads on from a similar fundraiser held last year during Homeless Week, which also initiated the cost reduction of sanitary products in the Union’s shop, whereby products were reduced to cost price and own-brand products were introduced.

Jess Reed, Welfare Officer, said: “No one should have to face humiliation and embarrassment because they cannot afford sanitary products, which is why we are donating them to homeless charities and shelters across Leeds.

“It is so important that we continue to raise awareness of this issue and of the tampon tax more generally, to strengthen the existing campaign to remove the ‘tampon tax’ in UK.

The decision to reduce the prices of our sanitary products and introduce own-brand which are much lower in price was too.”

The campaign will be launched in Leeds University Union’s supermarket, Essentials, and students will be encouraged to donate sanitary products at the till alongside the ‘sanitree’ with vulva baubles.