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During a 2016 lunch chat, Beth Gilbreath and a friend wondered how low-income women afforded menstrual products. After all, they’re costly and can bust household budgets.
When she checked with two local charities, both confirmed an urgent, unmet need. Many women managed their periods using old t-shirts, rags and paper towels, and some missed work because they lacked period products.
Exploring the community’s needs, she discovered that where there’s food insecurity, there’s period poverty.
Within a month, Gilbreath launched the Red Basket Project to get free menstrual products to those in need. “This is an easy fix, and we can help people’s lives dramatically with something so simple and basic,” Gilbreath says.
Drawing on her 17 years of real estate marketing know-how, Gilbreath set up a Red Basket Facebook page to get the word out and created branding materials. She also started dropping off period products to the Dubuque Food Pantry and the Dubuque Rescue Mission.
Gilbreath is well known around town as a real estate professional, a volunteer and a board member for numerous nonprofit groups. Such connections were invaluable in finding support.
Though she funded much of Red Basket’s first year out of her pocket and ran it from her house, people offered product and financial donations, packed cosmetic bags with products, and helped distribute them to charities and schools.
Her real estate colleagues have also been tremendously supportive. When she calls the East Central Iowa Association of REALTORS® and asks to spread the word about needing help, people and products just appear. Students, women’s clubs, and others also regularly get together for packing parties.
“Our focus is to make sure that people have what they need for their entire menstrual cycle and that they know where to go to find products every month.” –Beth Gilbreath
In addition, community members have organized creative fundraisers: A florist donated $5 for every tulip bouquet sold for one week, a hockey team raised money and awareness at a game, and a car dealership provided trucks for a Stuff-the-Truck event in a grocery store parking lot, where shoppers filled the trucks with feminine products.
During Red Basket’s early days, Gilbreath learned of another need after receiving a call from a high school counselor. Some girls stayed home from school during their periods, diminishing their education time.
“I was flabbergasted,” she says. Still, it resonated with her because she grew up in poverty and understands the struggle of stretching skimpy budgets.
For students, free period products are a necessity that keeps them in classrooms.
“Any time we can remove a barrier to education it benefits all of us,” says Heather Runde, a teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, where 40% of students are on subsidized lunch programs. “Without Red Basket, it would be devastating. I don’t know what we’d do.”
‘It’s a Gift of Mercy’
The outpouring of support isn’t surprising to those who know Gilbreath. “She has this quiet powerfulness and a way of making you want to join her in what she’s doing,” says Amanda Munger, Red Basket’s vice president. “She energizes others for a good cause.”
Another distribution partner, the Dubuque Food Pantry, receives 325 period packets every 10 days from Red Basket. “It’s a gift of mercy she bestows on people,” says Theresa Caldwell, the pantry’s executive director. “It’s so inspiring that Beth constantly looks out for the underdog. I like seeing successful people not forgetting about those less fortunate.”
Now, eight years on, Gilbreath still devotes 25 to 30 hours weekly to the project, and Red Basket baskets are a familiar sight around town: in health centers, schools and rescue missions.
Last year, a grant helped fund an office downtown, boosting the charity’s visibility, simplifying dropoffs and pickups, and providing space for packing parties.
As Red Basket evolves, Gilbreath anticipates doing advocacy work, whether urging businesses to supply free period products in restrooms, educating policymakers to support tax-free period products, or encouraging other communities to start similar projects.
Validation From Strangers
Because products are distributed through charities, Gilbreath’s contact with Red Basket beneficiaries is limited.
So it was surprising when a stranger at the Dubuque Rescue Mission, eating dinner with his wife and baby, recognized Gilbreath.
He thanked her, explaining that despite his two jobs, the family struggled financially, and Red Basket provided his wife dignity and comfort.
He then hugged her.
“That was a special moment for me. I mean, a guy coming up and hugging you? It was the sweetest thing ever, and it still sticks with me,” Gilbreath says.
No Small Acts
Occasionally, her mission extends beyond Dubuque. “Whenever I meet a homeless person, I introduce myself and ask what brought them to the streets,” she says.
When she bought a meal for a homeless man at a restaurant during a road trip, he talked about homelessness and the abuse he’d endured growing up.
As the conversation ended, Gilbreath bought him some gift cards. “He was almost crying and said, ‘I really hate to ask you because you’ve been so kind, but do you have any pads?’”
She was stunned.
He explained that he was born with both male and female body parts.
The encounter made her sob and opened her eyes to just how vast the need is for period products.
“There are so many emotional impacts around this work,” she says, noting that access to period products addresses basic health, hygiene, dignity and empowerment.
“It’s surprisingly easy to make a positive impact. Even small acts can raise someone’s spirit. My goal is to lift others, not contribute to their despair.”
Beth Gilbreath is a REALTOR® with Century 21 Signature Real Estate in Dubuque, Iowa. The Red Basket Project has distributed over 90,000 period packs to residents in the Dubuque and Western Dubuque, Iowa, communities.