Washington & Jefferson freshman Grace Vensel provides personal hygiene stations at Highlands

Highlands parent Liz Myers was beside herself when she learned that the efforts of an out-of-town teen will help protect the privacy of her teenage daughter at the middle school.

Washington & Jefferson freshman Grace Vensel will provide Menstruation Stations at the district’s middle and high schools through her nonprofit LuLu’s Free Store. Vensel plans to fill 13 baskets of personal hygiene products for free use by students.

“It’s freaking amazing,” said Myers, who complained to district officials this year about a policy banning middle school students from carrying purses, belt bags and fanny packs.

She said it leads to embarrassment for many girls because purses can be used to discreetly carry feminine hygiene products.

“It’s a delicate time for the students, and now nobody will know what they need to go to the restroom for,” Myers said. “They won’t have to feel uncomfortable in class having to tell their teacher they need extra time to go to their locker.

“The fact that someone who is not even from the district is doing this for our girls is a game-changer.”

Vensel, 18, has been working to empower young girls since her own time at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, Beaver County.

She did a similar initiative there after partnering with the Honey Pot Co., which sells feminine hygiene products, to provide baskets of free items.

“Menstrual equity is a huge passion of mine,” Vensel said.

“It’s a great experience to know there’s steps I can take to help other girls and change the culture.”

She was looking for places to implement the effort and said the partnership with Highlands is a perfect fit.

Vensel founded LuLu’s Free Store at 16, she said, to bring light to her community by providing free access to clothes and other necessities.

“I can’t promise the world, but I want to do what I can to help,” she said.

Superintendent Monique Mawhinney lauded Vensel’s outreach, saying “it’s great to see a young person so passionate.”

Mawhinney said the Menstruation Stations are a temporary fix while the district researches dispensers for the girls’ bathrooms at both schools. It is unclear whether the products in the dispensers would be provided for free.

“We are so grateful for her efforts,” Mawhinney said.