DAYTON, Ohio — A 13-year-old girl made it her birthday wish to help other girls in a big way.
Thursday, that wish came true.
For weeks, Autumn May collected feminine products for girls in school who may need them.
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News Center 7’s Ava Petrosky talked with Autumn about how her initiative has really taken off.
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She said in the past few weeks, donations have almost doubled and they are going to be donated through Dayton Public Schools in her effort to end period poverty.
“My reaction is so big right now,” Autumn said.
Autumn is officially a teenager and she’s living out her birthday wish.
“It feels so good because I’m glad that all the girls get to have something so they don’t have to miss school,” she said.
Her goal was 5,000 donations.
When we spoke with Autumn two weeks ago, she had collected 25,000.
And now…
“We have 41,000, I believe,” Autumn told us.
That number continues to rise.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Local girl combating Period Poverty with new initiative
“That doesn’t include the large box that’s sitting over there and also the donation from Procter & Gamble, said Kayelin Tiggs, Miss Ohio USA 2026.
Autumn teamed up with Tiggs and her initiative, The Ohio Coalition for Menstrual Equity.
“Autumn is a pageant girl like myself,” Tiggs said. “I thought it was so brave and so courageous of her at only 12 years old to want to do something so big to help the community.”
So, Autumn and her mom created Autumn’s Period Initiative.
An Amazon link taking donations until October 22, her 13th birthday.
“I’m sad because I remember when so many boxes came in, now the excitement is just gonna be gone, and I don’t want that,” she said.
The Ohio Coalition for Menstrual Equity will be collecting donations through the end of October. Tiggs said she hopes to make this even bigger next year.
“I want to make this an annual initiative and work with schools all over Ohio,” Tiggs said.
The final tally will be announced at the Dayton Public Schools meeting on November 17.
If you want to help, visit Autumn’s Amazon page.
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